by Tom Stobart
Beets have to be shredded and the sugar dissolved out with warm water to produce a sugary solution which is treated with lime, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and so on in successive processes until it can be evaporated, crystallized and centrifuged in the same way as cane sugar. The largest producers of cane sugar are Cuba, Brazil and India; the USSR, Europe and the US are the big beet sugar areas.
Caster sugar is drawn from the evaporating pan at the correct crystal size. lcing sugar is made by powdering the crystals in a mill. Lump or cube sugar is made by compressing moist sugar in moulds and then drying it. In the old days, the moist refined sugar was poured into a mould shaped like a volcano (a Venetian innovation) to produce loaf sugar, which had to be broken up with special tongs. Real loaf sugar is still used in some parts of the Middle East, but the name is applied to any lump sugar in the US.
Sucrose from cane or beet will dissolve completely in about a third of its weight of water at room temperature. More will dissolve in hot water but will crystallize out again on cooling. Sucrose syrups boil at a higher temperature than pure water, but if the sugar is heated dry, it will melt at about 160°C (320°F) and will then cool to a straw-coloured, glassy substance called barley sugar.
Confectioners make good use of the different physical states in which sugar can exist when it is heated to various temperatures. It is tricky to melt sugar by itself, as it is apt to overheat in spots and then caramelize. Thus it is usual to add a little water to the sugar. Even so, heat must be applied gently until the sugar has completely melted, after which the temperature is best raised as fast as possible without causing it to burn – in general, the longer sugar is heated, the greater the degree of caramelization or darkening. (Once the added water has boiled away, the sugar begins to lose the water of crystallization, which is an integral part of the sugar crystal).To prevent unwanted caramelization, never let the sides of the pan overheat, and keep them free of sugar by brushing or sponging them down with cold water. Professional confectioners may boil the sugar with the lid on the pan – called ‘steaming down’ – so that the sugar on the sides gets wet with steam.
Sugar heated above 120°C (250°F) will almost certainly grain or candy unless steps are taken to stop it. With graining, the sugar goes into an opaque hard lump when it cools. To prevent this, a lowering agent must be added. For home-made toffees, this is often a dash of vinegar or lemon juice, but serious sweet-makers mostly use thick glucose syrup at the rate of 1 kg (2¼ Ib) glucose to 4 kg (9 Ib) of sugar.
However, in hot countries it is better to use cream of tartar – 10 g (1½ level tablespoons) of cream of tartar to 4 kg (9 lb) of sugar. Dirty pans also cause graining, as does inadequate skimming when the sugar boils. To test the various stages of sugar boiling, professionals will dip their fingers into cold water, then quickly into the sugar and back again into the cold water. Anyone lacking speed or confidence (which means almost everyone) should use the handle of a spoon or a short iron rod instead of fingers. For large quantities, it is best to use a sugar thermometer, which will be graduated up to about 200°C or 400°F. Keep it handy in a jug of very hot water, as clipping it to the side of the pan (which the design suggests) will get in the way of the brushing down.
Sugar Boiling
As sugar is heated, it changes constantly, and the stage it has reached is related to the temperature. The stages have been given names by the confectioners, but there is much variation (at least from five to thirteen) in the number of stages identified by different authorities, and there is no absolute agreement on the temperatures at which the stages are reached, not surprisingly, as there is another factor which affects the state of sugar- the speed of heating. The following list represents the stages that might be recognized by cooks in old fashioned kitchens.
1) Thread – 102°C (215°F).If a little of the liquid sugar is taken out, it can be pulled into brittle threads between the thumb and the forefinger. This and the next stage are used for candying fruit, for liqueur making and for icing.
2) Pearl – 106°C (222°F).The thread formed between thumb and finger can be stretched. The name of the stage comes from the fact that the sugar is boiling and forms small pearl-like balls.
3) Blow or soufflé – 110°C (230°F).The bubbles in the boiling sugar look like snowflakes, and if you dip in a perforated skimmer and then blow through the holes, bubbles or flakes will form. This is the temperature for making sugar candy.
4) Soft ball – 116°C (240°F).The sugar clinging to the skimmer will now, when shaken, produce a feathery, downy effect. The syrup is now beginning to thicken and will form a soft ball if a little of it is dropped into cold water. This is the temperature for fondants, fudges, peppermint creams and the final stages of fruit candying.
5) Hard ball – 121°C (250°F).If some of the syrup is dropped into cold water, it will make a hard ball. This is the temperature for caramels, nougats and soft toffees.
6) Light crack (or crackling) – 129°C (264°F).If a rod is dipped in the sugar, then quickly plunged into cold water, the sugar forms a hard layer. Alternatively, you can use a wetted finger, a rather risky business unless you have the lightning fingers (and hardened) of a professional cook. If you put the cooled sugar in your mouth, it will stick to your teeth. It is used for toffee icings: slightly higher temperatures are used for most toffees. At the light crack stage, sugar begins to turn pale yellow in colour.
7) Hard crack – 143°C (289°F).The cooked sugar becomes harder and more glassy. A coating on a rod (or a daring wetted finger) will, when plunged into cold water, come off in thin films that crack like glass. At somewhat higher temperatures, around 150°C (302°F), the sugar reaches a suitable state for making barley sugar, butterscotch, boiled sweets, fruit drops and brittles. Slightly higher still and caramel is just starting to form -this is the temperature for spun sugar and for dipping fresh fruit such as peaches, apricots and grapes to give them a crackle covering.
8) *Caramel – 180°C (356°F).There is now very little water left in the sugar. It darkens and progressively loses its sweetness, eventually forming *browning. At higher temperatures still, it finally burns to carbon. Sucrose warmed with a dilute acid, such as sulphuric acid, is split by *hydrolysis into two simpler monosaccharide sugars – glucose and fructose. Enzymes in our insides and in the saliva of bees also break down sucrose into these two simpler sugars.
Sugar has other important effects, apart from sweetening in cookery. In high concentrations it acts as a *preservative; in bottling and canning, it helps to maintain both texture and flavour in fruit; in *freezing, fruit is best if it is first coated with sugar or frozen in a 40% sugar syrup; in baking, the effect of sugar is to maintain the elasticity of the gluten so that it stays flexible for longer and so allows the cake to rise better- it does not set rigid too soon; it has a similar effect on the protein of egg in cakes and custards; it combines with the pectin in fruit (in the presence of fruit acids) to form a jelly; it forms both bulk and texture in cakes and ice creams; by encouraging peptization in marinades, it helps meat to become more tender, and it counteracts the hardening effect of saltpetre in cures for ham and bacon. On the debit side, sugar undoubtedly contributes to dental worries by encouraging decay bacteria in the mouth, and overconsumption has been blamed for a number of modern illnesses, but evidence here is so far inconclusive. Too much of most things is harmful; exactly how much is too much is difficult to decide.
Types of sugar
Barbados sugar. Sugar-cane cultivation was introduced into Barbados in the 17th century, and the sugar from there had a high reputation. Many sugars were once labelled with the name of the place of origin and some names have stuck. Barbados is a dark brown, moist sugar with a fine ‘rummy’ taste and not too coarse a grain for cakes. It is also known as moist sugar in the US.
Bee sugar. Rough sugar used by bee-keepers to maintain hives over winter, or at any time when there is no honey flow, which may be the hot dry season, in some countries. If they were not fed sugar, the bee
s would eat the honey that the beekeeper wants from them, or would starve if it were taken. The saliva of bees converts sucrose to glucose and fructose, and the result is stored in the comb. The cells look white and are easily recognized; they should not be sold as honey. (In wartime Britain, some kept bees to get an extra ration of sugar).
Brown sugar. In the past, brown sugar was sugar partly purified and containing residual molasses which gave it flavour. Today, most brown sugar is a reconstituted product made by adding calculated amounts of suitable cane molasses to purified white sugar. People used to old-fashioned Barbados or Demerara will find the result rather insipid. Examples of reconstituted brown sugars are Tate & Lyle’s light brown soft, a fine-grained, creamy-golden sugar for use when a slight, but not too pronounced, brown-sugar taste is needed, and their rich brown soft sugar, which is darker and has a stronger, but still mild, flavour. Many cooks prefer the traditional brown sugars which are less widely available and more costly.
Caster sugar or castor sugar – Both spellings are correct – is a very fine but crystalline sugar (called superfine in the US) the best for many purposes. It blends beautifully in cake mixtures, gives a sparkle finish when sifted over anything for decoration and is the one to use in meringues. As it dissolves quickly and is therefore seemingly sweeter than coarser-grained sugar, it is the ideal to have in the sugar caster on the table.
Coffee sugar. A form of sugar candy.
Coloured sugar. Some sugar is dyed brown to simulate brown sugars. Coarsely crystalline sugar candy (see below), is sometimes dyed for decoration. Sometimes mixed colours turn up on the coffee table. Coloured crystals are also used in cake decoration. They may be made by putting colours on the palms of the hands, rubbing the crystals between them and then drying the coloured sugar. Traditionally, colours used were cochineal for pink sugar, spinach juice for green, saffron solution for yellow, chocolate syrup for brown and indigo for blue. Nowadays the colours would probably be synthetic.
Confectioner’s sugar. US name for icing sugar.
Crystal sugar. Sugar candy.
Cube sugar. Hard, small grained crystalline sugar pressed moist into blocks, dried and cut into cubes of various sizes; some are wrapped in paper. Cube sugar, though more expensive than loose sugar, is preferred by cafes and restaurants where portion control is important. On the tea table it is less easily spilled and looks more elegant. It is also more elegant in champagne cocktails. In the kitchen, it is sometimes useful.lt can be rubbed on lemons or oranges to remove flavouring oils without the bits of zest you would get if the peel were grated. Lump sugar tends to vanish in households where there are children (who like to stuff a lump into a hole in an orange, and suck it).
Demerara sugar. A brown sugar with large crystals and fine flavour named after the Demerara district in Guyana. It is less moist than Barbados sugar, varies considerably in quality, and is less widely available than it used to be. A modern equivalent, made from refined white sugar with added molasses is Tate & Lyle’s ‘London Demerara’, but many prefer the original even though it is more expensive. ‘London Demerara’ is described as having a pleasing golden colour with a delicate syrup flavour. There is a ‘Demerara’ sugar from Barbados, which is said to be pure cane sugar, and has more flavour than the London variety. The large crystals make demeraratype sugars ideal for use on cereals and porridge. They are traditional sweeteners for coffee and are also used in meat dishes, for example on ham.
Dark brown sugar. US name for Barbados sugar or for a dark form of brown sugar (see above).
Foots. Crude, unrefined sugar, containing molasses and uncrystallizable sugars, is called foot sugar because it was originally the sugar which crystallized and sank to the foot or bottom of the barrel. It has a high proportion of molasses and is the crudest of all the brown sugars.
*Golden syrup is a uniquely British product which is pale yellow and has a thick, honey-like consistency. Its taste is unique, delicate and quite unlike molasses.
Granulated sugar. Ordinary, refined crystalline sugar as used in the kitchen.
Icing sugar, called powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar in the US, is a fine, very white powdered sugar made by grinding it in a mill to the required consistency. It is likely to contain a harmless anti-caking agent like starch or calcium phosphate, and is used for decorating cakes and for dusting, as on Turkish delight and other sweets. It dissolves instantly, is very sweet to the taste, and is used in whipped cream and in uncooked sweets (such as chocolate truffles and fondants), where there should not be a grainy texture. It is also used in meringues, but less so than caster sugar.
*Jaggery. Indian crude sugar or gur.
Light brown soft sugar. A form of brown sugar.
Loaf sugar. US name for cube sugar.
London Demerara. A Tate & Lyle imitation of Demerara sugar.
Lump sugar. Cube sugar.
Maple sugar is made by reduction of *maple syrup.
Moist sugar. US name for Barbados sugar.
*Molasses. A dark, treacly mass of sugars and other substances left over from sugar refining.
Palm sugar. Sugar made by boiling down the sap of various *palms.
Panela. Hard, dark Colombian sugar formed into loaves.
Penang sugar. So called after its port of shipment, a type of foots.
Pieces or yellows. Soft brown sugar produced by crystallizing the syrup from which the crystals of refined sugar have been separated out. It is slightly sticky because the crystals have a coating of the mother liquor.
Piloncillo. Crude brown sugar from Mexico. Very dark and shaped in the form of small corks, sometimes wrapped in raffia and also called panocha. Very dark Barbados sugar is the best substitute.
Powdered sugar. US name for icing sugar.
Preserving sugar. Pure refined sugar in large white crystals or irregular small lumps used for making jams, jellies and marmalades. Although ordinary granulated sugar can be used for this purpose, preserving sugar is more convenient, as it does not form a compact mass and thus needs less stirring. In the initial stages of jam-making, there is less likelihood of the pan catching, or of caramelization and burning.
Raw sugar. Crude brown sugar as it is shipped to the refinery
Rich brown soft. A form of brown sugar.
Rock candy. US name for sugar candy.
Sand sugar. Light brown sugar looking like damp sand, the same as soft sugar, i.e. pieces.
Scotch pieces or scotch. Highly-refined, moist sugar pieces (see above).
Soft sugar. The Light brown sugar of the US, a refined, paler type of brown sugar also known as sand sugar or pieces.
Sugar candy, called rock candy in the US. Large sugar crystals are sometimes attached to strings or twigs in bottles of liqueurs (fior d’Aipi).They have to be grown by putting crystals into a saturated sugar solution and allowing the water to evaporate slowly. Smaller sugar candy crystals are used as coffee sugar.
Sorghum. Syrup or sugar from sweet sorghum (see millet).
Superfine sugar. US name for caster sugar.
Syrup. *Golden syrup.
*Treacle is a rather vague term that has been used to cover everything from Golden syrup to molasses.
Unrefined sugar is raw sugar, *jaggery or gur.
White sugar includes all the highly refined sugars that are 99% sucrose.
Yellows. Pieces (see above).
[Sugar – French: sucre German: Zucker Italian: zucchero Spanish: azúcar]
SUGAR APPLE. See custard apple.
SULPHUR DIOXIDE, sulphurous acid, and sulphites. See preservatives.
SULPHURIC ACID (H2SO4), when concentrated, is known as ‘oil of vitriol’ and is a most dangerous corrosive substance. As the murderer Haig demonstrated on a number of old ladies, it will completely dissolve a human body. Sulphuric acid in a dilute form is used in car batteries, but even at that strength it is very corrosive. lt is much used in the chemical industry, sometimes in processes that relate to food (e.g. the synthesis of saccharin). ln a
very dilute form, it has been used in soft drinks and at such extremely low strengths is probably harmless.
[Sulphuric acid – French: acide sulfurique German: Schwefelsäure Italian: acido solforico Spanish: ácido sulfúrico]
SULTANA. Dried, seedless grape, golden brown and very sweet, with a mild and characteristic taste. They originally came as an export from Turkey; mostly through lzmir (then Smyrna), and were known as Smyrna or Sultana raisins to distinguish them from currants from Corinth. True, sultanas still come from Turkey and Greece, but the bulk of the world’s production now comes from California and Australia, where the seedless grape varieties that are used lack the sultana flavour and are mainly sweet. In the US, they are called golden seedless raisins. There are other seedless raisins which come somewhere between sultanas and the dried or Valencia raisins but lack the raisin flavour.
In some countries, sultanas are allowed to be dressed with mineral oil to prevent them over-drying and to give them a gloss. In Britain, for instance, 1 g is allowed in 200 g of fruit, and it is assumed that this will be much reduced by washing before the fruit is used. Mineral oils interfere with the absorption of the fat soluble vitamins, and they; or the impurities they contain, have other possible ill effects, so you should look for sultanas that are less beautiful and glossy; but may be more wholesome.