Talk:Demerara (sugar)

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[edit] Demerara (sugar) or Demerara Sugar?

Seems like maybe this article should be called "Demerara Sugar". Is it called just "Demerara" somewhere?

[edit] Conversion

I seem to recall Demerara Sugar being less sweet than granulated Cane sugar... anyone got a conversion?

Ans: Demerara sugar is not considered less sweet that the granular cane sugar that you are referring to. Demerara on the other hand, has a distinct flavor that is different from the usual treated cane sugar.

Demerara has particular qualities that make it ideal for baking or coffee flavoured with chocolate or haselnut. Coffee experts credit this sugar with improving the flavor of coffee, and it used especially for topings on cookies, cakes, desserts etc.,

[edit] "Sugar In The Raw"

I think "Sugar In The Raw" is a brand name for the same stuff, at least it sounds like it from the description. At least here in No. Cal., you find it in little packets on the tables of cafes & restaurants. Am I right? -Tzf 05:28, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

No. I think that "Sugar In the Raw" is lighter and dryer than Demerara. It's probably closer to Turbinado sugar (which has been centrifuged to remove most of the 'impurities'). -- [[1]Yep!] -- Darkonc 15:27, 3 Sept 2006(UTC)

One thing I found about this type of sugar, is that it never goes hard. No more sticking a slice of apple in it to keep it moist.

[edit] Sugar substitute? No way!

Horsefeathers! (ESOL: nonsense). This just °has° to be the real stuff. Our local big supermarket (Dutch owned, iirc), carries a huge variety of edibles and drinkables, and it was there that I discovered muscovado and demerara. I loved them both, but their prices were quite steep, maybe $10/kg?, although packaged maybe as ¼ kilo or so. I'd tried piloncillo a few years ago, and loved it.

For much of my life, I have disliked white sugar for several reasons. A primary one is that it's unhealthy, being mercilessly stripped of all nutrients save the basic sugar. White sugar's cultural history is also something we forget; the upper classes in Europe wanted utter whiteness in their flour and sugar, having the weird notion that (like skin color, an equally invalid idea) darker was inferior. Long ago (I'm 72), J.I. Rodale made me aware that white sugar and white flour really should not be staples of one's diet, and ever since, I've much preferred brown sugar and whole wheat at a minimum.

I used to be fond of Mars candy bars, but hated the painful burn left in the back of my throat, apparently caused by the refined sweeteners they (and Snickers, as well as countless other similar candy bars) used back then. I still get throat burn from contemporary sweeteners, and eat a KitKat only every few weeks on average.

A revelation, some time back, was that brown sugar is white sugar with molasses mixed in. Big disappoinment. There matters sat, until turbinado and its likes (a trademarked Floridian brand I forget; Sucanat?) came along. They seemed like a good idea. Then, as I said earlier, I discovered muscovado and demerara, but re-stocking was a long wait. I spotted La Fe brand azúcar negro, (not "moreno"? Why?) a.k.a. demerara, and Not Costly. Bought some, and was delighted again.

While doing my usual raster scan :) of the aisles, went past the Domino sugars as usual, and was amazed to see Domino brand demerara, from Mauritius. When my current 2 lb. (almost 1 kg) of La Fe ran out, the shelf space for La Fe demerara had been bare for a few weeks, and I bought Domino demerara. Loved it. Better packaging, too.

Now, shelf space in supermarkets is apparently paid for by the suppliers, and they pay a lot, apparently. Did Domino pay my supermarket to stop stocking Goya? I'll probably never know.

I would be exceedingly reluctant to eat a spoonful of white sugar, but I have eaten straight demerara in rather-large quantities as a snack with no ill effects except a tiny increase in waist girth. Combined with Al Akdar (not "Akbar") brand sesame tahini, demerara makes a delicious topping for good multigrain bread. Spread on the tahini, then a generous layer of demerara, don't tilt it, and crunch happily.

I recently tried demerara as a hot-cereal sweetener, used lots of it, and it was delicious.
I'm so glad it's not chemically-pure white sugar!

It's the Real Stuff, nutrients and all, seems to me! (The article needs a lot more about, or a link to another one, about refining sugar, btw.)