We've carried brown sugar in our facility from day one as it is a key ingredient in numerous rubs, especially for pork. Because we've received so many requests from our wholesale customers for brown sugar we are now making this available on our site.So what exactly is brown sugar? Brown sugar is a sugar with an instantly recognizable brown color that's the result of the amount of molasses in the sugar. Commercially sold brown sugar is typically a white refined sugar that has had molasses added to it. Our brown sugar is considered a commercial grade light brown sugar. Sugar cane (also spelled as sugarcane) originated in tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. The cane plant is a large coarse growing member of the grass family with juice or sap high in sugar content. Different Sugar Cane species likely originated in different locations with Saccharum barberi originating in India and Saccharum edule and Saccharum officinarum likely coming from New Guinea.History and CultivationThe story of brown sugar is not surprisingly intertwined with white sugar. Sugar is just sucrose, which contains two sugar molecules, a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule. Sucrose occurs naturally in a variety of plants, but the majority of the sugar consumed this country comes from the stalks of sugar cane, and sometimes sugar beets. Humans have a predisposed disposition to sweet flavors that has been driven by a need for survival. Our ancestor's sweet tooth would be satisfied by the gathering of fruits, which are naturally high in carbohydrates and were needed to keep us strong and healthy. In the 1400s, the Portuguese and Spanish were harvesting sugar in small numbers, but they were implementing sugar plantation models that would later be transported to the new world. The Portuguese had plantations on Sao Tome island (off the western coast of Africa) and the Spanish on Madeira island (off of Africa's nothwestern coast). Both the Portuguese and the Spanish used enslaved Africans to work the plantations.By the mid 1520's, cultivation and processing of sugar was rapidly spreading throughout the Antilles (modern day Caribbean islands) as well as to Mexico, Paraguay, and South America's Pacific coast. Caribbean sugar cultivation didn't take off until the middle of the 17th century, but the sugar industry there was also built on the backs of African slaves. Not only did the ratio of slaves to free men greatly increase on the islands in this time period, but the average size of the plantations also grew exponentially.Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 and Sugar cane was brought there in 1619, but the colonists couldn't make it grow that far north. Around the time of the US Civil War, we were getting half of our sugar from Cuba and the other half from Louisiana. The Domino Sugar Corporation was founded by William and Frederick Havemeyer, two English brothers who established a sugar refinery in New York in 1807. They called their company the Havemeyer Company, and by 1816 were producing almost 9 million pounds of sugar per year. In 1891, the family business, then in their third generation, was renamed the American Sugar Refining Company. In May 1896, American Sugar became one of the original 12 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company changed its name to Domino Sugar in 1900.The Brown Sugar Smear CampaignIn the late 1800's, the refined white sugar industry, which did not have sufficient control over brown sugar cultivation, devised a smear campaign to vilify brown sugar. They showed blown up photographs of fantastically ugly looking, but harmless, microbes found naturally in brown sugar. The company was able to brainwash the American public into believing that brown sugar was an inferior quality and that they should only use refined white sugar. The campaign was such a success that even Mary Lincoln, one of the most influential cook book authors of the last 1800's, pontificated that "All brown sugar and moist sugars are inferior in quality: they contain water and mineral matter, and are sometimes infested by a minute insect. Loaf sugar is the purest." A sugarloaf (or loaf sugar) was the form in which most refined sugar was produced and sold until the early 1900s. The success of this ad campaign drove refined sugar sales even higher and tarnished the reputation of brown sugar for years.Sugar cane stalks are harvested either mechanically or by hand, chopped into shorter lengths and then sent to a processing plant. Once at the processor, they are shredded and squeezed to extract the cane's natural juice, which is boiled until it thickens and molasses-rich sugar crystals begin to settle to the bottom of the pan. The molasses filled crystals are then put in a rapidly spinning centrifuge to separate the molasses and leave pure white sugar crystals. The sugar crystals are then dried. Commercial brown sugar is produced by adding molasses back to the refined white sugar in a controlled manner in order to produce a consistent flavor and shade. Commercial brown sugar contains from 4.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar) based on total volume. When and Where to UseBrown sugar adds flavor to baked goods and desserts. Because Brown Sugar caramelizes much more readily than refined sugar, it is frequently used to make glazes. Brown Sugar is also frequently used in pork rubs and to flavor ham.Flavor ProfileSweet with hints of molasses. Most Common Questions About Brown SugarWhat the difference between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar?It's basically the amount of molasses each contains. Light brown sugar has less molasses per total volume of sugar (about 4.5%), while dark brown sugar has more (6.5%). Using dark brown sugar to make cookies will make the color of the cookies darker than if you used light brown sugar, and you'll also notice a slightly stronger molasses flavor.Can you substitute light brown sugar in a recipe calling for dark brown sugar (and vice versa)?If a recipe calls for "brown sugar" it usually means light brown sugar. You can substitute dark brown sugar for light if needed, but it may affect the color of the dish, as well as have a slight flavor profile change. Substituting dark brown sugar imparts a stronger flavor with caramel undertones. But the differences are really pretty small. Helpful HintsA quick way to soften rock hard brown sugar is to place a moist paper towel in a plastic bag with the brown sugar and microwave it approximately 20 seconds. This 'trick' works like a charm. As you are breaking up the softened sugar, if you still have rock hard pieces you can microwave those pieces again using the same damp paper towel method.My Grandmother always believed that by storing brown sugar in a freezer it prevents moisture from escaping and provided a much longer shelf life.We also carry a top grade Bulk Demerara Sugar.
