This sugar exchange could make or break your desserts

In my kitchen, granulated sugar is an everyday basic food. I use it every day, mostly to sweeten a cup of coffee, but also to compensate for the acid in tomato sauce or whip a series of cookies. On the other hand, the sugar of the confectionery is often descended into the back of my pantry – and it stays there until I tackle a baking project that requires it. Every sugar has its place in the kitchen, but the two differ not only in the texture, but also in make -up.

How exactly do you differ? And is it possible to replace a mess? I spoke to Emily Kellogg, a former confectioner of the three New York restaurants awarded Michelin-Stern, and the current owner of EJS Bon Bons in Woodstock, NY, and Joy Wilson, the voice and confectioner behind the blog Joy the Baker to find out.

Sugar foundations

In the most basic sugar, sugar is sucrose, a white crystalline substance that consists of glucose and fructose. You can find saccharosis in many fruit, vegetables and plants. Most of the processed sugar, which ends up in our cookies and cups of coffee – including the sugar from the sugar cane or sugar beet, comes from the sugar from the confectioners. Some brands, including Domino by Sugar Giant Domino, list the plant from which the sugar is produced on its packaging. However, many companies do not indicate the source of the sugar. In such cases, the sugar probably consists of bees or a mixture of sugar of sugar cane and sugar beet. After USDA40 to 45% of the sugar produced in the United States comes from sugar cane, while sugar beets make up 55 to 60% of production.

What is granulated sugar?

Granulated sugar is good, grainy. Each crystal ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters and gives it a similar texture. The process of refining sugar – which is about clarifying, filtering, crystallizing and drying sugar cane or sugar beet juice in order to remove contamination – the ingredient culminates its bright white color. It has a neutral taste and its even crystals are small enough to dissolve in most dough and battery, which makes it a varied ingredient. Superfine, Caster or Baker sugar are also forms of granulated sugar that have been ground into finer crystals (about 0.1 to 0.3 millimeters), which dissolve even easier and make them ideal for sensitive foams and batteries such as meringue.

What is the sugar of confectionery?

The sugar of confectioners, also called powdery sugar, is a granulated sugar that has been ground into a fine white powder. This powder is combined with starch (typically corn starch or tapioca strength) to prevent the lump. On the label you can see “6x”, “10x” or “12x”, which refers to the mesh size on the screens that are used to separate powdered sugar. The larger the number, the finer the mesh size and the sugar.

The sugar of confectionery can taste even sweeter as a granulated sugar: Since the crystals are so small, the sugar dissolves faster on your tongue and floods your taste buds with sucrose. Antique, including corn starch, can give the ingredient a metallic taste. In your article in which the detailing of the Differences between conventional and organic powdered sugarStella Parks, former serious Eats editor, explains that she recommends it ORganic Pulvered sugar because it is usually made from tapioka strength that has a neutral taste that is less detectable than that of corn starch.

What are the best uses for granulated sugar and powdered sugar?

Apart from the addition of sweetness, granulated sugar baked goods and desserts help in the oven. It is also hygroscopic, which means that it means water from the air, surrounding ingredients and its surroundings and then keeps this moisture. His ability to keep moisture can help keep the baked goods moist.

When butter and sugar are beaten together, they create something parks – in their Book science declaration– describes as “an expansive network of sugar crystals, fat and air”, which builds cookies, cakes and other baked goods in the oven. For this reason, you cannot simply reduce the sugar quantity in a recipe without influencing a back -to -grade increase and texture, explains Wilson, whose readers often ask whether you can use less sugar in the production of your recipes.

Powdered sugar is more hygroscopy and finer than granulated sugar. It quickly dissolves and makes it difficult to hit the native dough and battery with butter, and often melts in the oven before a biscuit had the chance of being too crispy or caramelizing. Corn strength also absorbs the moisture slightly and further reduces crispiness or caramelization in baked goods. As a result, baked goods made of sweetener sugar are often soft and tender. Sometimes this is the goal and therefore certain recipes, including Shortbread (A sandy French tart dough), request the sugar of confectionery.

Most bakers, including Kellogg, reserve the sugar of confectioners for the cut, since its fine texture means that it can be installed easily and quickly into inclusion InterPresent ButtercreamPresent GlazesAnd Whipped cream. A diversification of sweetener sugar is also used to decorate cakes and other sweets Beigets.

Can you replace the granulated sugar and vice versa to the sugar of confectioners?

Since the sugar and the granulated sugar of confectionery have such different textures, they should not be replaced by each other. However, you can use granulated sugar to prepare the sugar of your own confectioners. In her shop in your Woodstock, NY, Kellogg flashes for one to three minutes with granulated sugar in a powerful mixer until it resembles a powder. It weighs the sugar, adds three to four percent of its weight to corn starch and then sieves it.

Wilson has also used granulated sugar to make their own powdery sugar at home, but warns against doing this unless they are really in an emergency clamp. “In my experience, the granulated sugar will never be as good as I need,” she says. It is also chaotic: “You will have sugar dust everywhere.”

How should you save both of the sugar?

Store both the confectioners and the granulated sugar in an airtight container in a dry, cool room. If moist, both sugar can get clumpy and hard. While you are probably doing well to leave a bowl with a granulated sugar on your counter for tea or coffee, this sugar will probably be too lumpy for baking. Kellogg recommends saving the ingredient with one or two silica packages in order to prevent your sugar from becoming moist.