Sugar - Rapadura? Muscovado? Sucanat?

[agpest]

I use XyloSweet which is a brand of xylitol. It occurs naturally i raspberries and other fruits. In the US it is used in toothpaste because it has a natural antibacterial effect and prevents tooth decay. It is made from corn cobs and from birch trees. I have read that birch is better but I don't remember where or why ( I'm getting old and the heat here is accelerating the process ) You substitute it measure for measure for sugar but I have always assumed it was volume because that is how recipes are done in the US. Xylitol is also used as a nasal rinse for sinus symptoms. I don't use regular flours so I don't know if you have to add anything else to baked goods. I have used it with coconut flour to make carrot cake and it was fine. I also use a mix of sweeteners Erythritol, stevia, splenda. I use a liquid splenda so it does not have the fillers in it that the powdered has. But it is in no way a natural product. 24 drops equals 1 cup of sugar.

I also use Erythritol it is made by fermenting and crystallizing sugarcane juice. It is a naturally occurring sugar in fruits and in our bodies and in fermented foods like soy sauce ( i think in small quantities ) Zero is a brand made from organic sugar cane.  Erythritol is also suppose to be more tooth friendly and reduce plaque.



When I want a brown sugar flavor I add 1 Tablespoon /cup of sugar equivalent) of black strap molasses. Black strap molasses is where most of the vitamins & minerals end up after processing sugar.

[vivacity]

Thanks Gayle for the detailed answer . I'm going to give it a go when I get back from holiday.

[quirkycooking]

I've updated my info on Rapadura on my blog for anyone who's interested... there are a couple of suppliers links too.
http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/rapadura-sucanat-muscavado-turbinado.html
 

[Tebasile]

Hi Jo,

do you use the green or white stevia powder? I like the idea to combine it with rapadura.

As I know, Sucanat and Rapadura is not the same evaporated cane juice. Here is a good info.

[cathy79]

Thanks for the links Jo!

[quirkycooking]

Well, I've updated my blog about Rapadura AGAIN - seems to be a bit of confusion about Sucanat, Jaggery and Panela - apparently they're not the same as Rapadura, as they've been heated!  Here's the updated link: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/rapadura-sucanat-muscavado-turbinado.html 

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks for that Jo.  I've been buying my rapadura from a mainland (Aus) co-op but with postage it still works out at about $100 for 10kg. It is very hard to get reasonable postage across the Bass Strait.  A local health food store has Panela for $9.50kg and I was tempted to buy it after my rapadura runs out, but I won't now.  The shop-assistant assured me Panela was another name for rapadura so I will have to correct her next time I visit.  Thanks again Jo!

[quirkycooking]

It's all very confusing - some people use the words 'Rapadura' and 'Panela' and 'Jaggery' interchangeably, and some say they're different!  Panela is dehydrated sugar cane juice, and is heaps better than refined sugars, but they do heat it in the dehydration process.  But some people say Rapadura is heated in the dehydration process too, and some say it's not... I've sent an email to Daabon Organics to ask about it - they import the Rapadura from Columbia to Australia and most other countries.

Wikipedia says about Panela, "The sugarcane plant is processed in a large press, to obtain the juice, which is cooked at very high temperatures. The panela can be manufactured in disc-shaped pieces or in cubic pieces of cake form and is usually gold or brown in color. Besides Sugar, panela also contains large amounts of proteins, calcium, iron and ascorbic acid."  (See also http://mandulpanela.com/english). 

I guess if you can't get Rapadura, Panela is still better than sugar, as it has heaps of vitamins and minerals left in it.  Just make sure it's organic, as the traditional methods I think leave chemical residues.

[Michp]

Hmm I am just south of Perth so hopefully I will have better luck than you have had Chelsea

I usually find Rapadura in my local Good Life Health store http://www.goodlifehealth.com.au/, they almost always have it. Its Lotus Organic Foods brand and $6.95 for 375g (so not exactly cheap).

[quirkycooking]

Here's some info about the difference between Rapadura and Sucanat from Rapunzel, who import it from South America - they ARE different, but I'm still not sure if Rapadura is heated at all in the dehydration process...

"What's the difference between Rapadura and Sucanat?
The way it is processed! Although very similar in appearance and taste, Rapadura is made by just evaporating the water from the organic sugar cane juice. Sucanat is manufactured in a way that the sugar stream and the molasses stream is separated from each other and then carefully re-blended to reach a consistent product. The taste and appearance of Rapunzel's Rapadura on the other hand can vary according to sugar cane variety, soil type and weather. But it is a whole product in its true sense."
http://www.rapunzel.com/products/faq/q_a.html

[quirkycooking]

Here's some more info about Muscavado too, that I didn't know:
"Muscovado sugar (a.k.a. Barbados sugar), from Britain, is [darker than Turbinado and Demarara] and is made by allowing the sugar crystals to dry under low heat, sometimes in the sun. (Muscovado doesn’t get spun in a centrifuge.) This leaves more plant material in the sugar, resulting in a very strong molasses taste and a sticky consistency. The flavor is overpowering for use in coffee but is sometimes called for in gingersnap recipes."
Sounds like it's not too bad as sugars go (but it is crystallised, so they must use more heat than when making Rapadura).

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

No wonder I got confused with all of them .  When I researched the vitamin and mineral content of the different "sugars", rapadura was very good.  Coconut palm sugar was also quite good but as it is too expensive to buy here in Tassie (or over the net) I didn't look into the process used to extract (or manufacture??) it.

[quirkycooking]

Jaggery is the name given to either palm sugar or cane sugar that's dehyrdrated (high heat - 200 degrees C) and formed into cakes, so I'd still rather Rapadura.  From what the lady from Daabon organics told me, the Rapadura is dehydrated at a lower heat than any others, and never separated from the molasses, which is why it's not a consistent colour/texture - depends on the batch.  After all my research, I still think it's the best!!

[Nay-nay]

Thanks so much for all your research - you'll be giving Cyndi O a run for her money! 

[quirkycooking]

Ha ha!  Actually, I never thought to look on her site for info - must do that!!!