A sprinkling of sucrose—good old granulated table sugar. Photo by Stuart Whitmore | SXC.

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November 2006
Updated January 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Honeys, Sugars & Syrups

How Sweet It Is: A Glossary Of Sugar & Syrup Types

Page 5: Natural Sugar & Other Terms From N To R

This is Page 5 of a seven-page glossary. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.

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Natural Brown Sugar: Raw sugar. The molasses is not spun out of the white sugar, but retained. See also brown sugar.

Natural Sugar: This term refers to unrefined sugar. Unrefined cane sugar is made from raw sugar; the nutrients, flavor and color have not been removed. Barley malt, raw honey, maple syrup and rice syrup are also considered unrefined sweeteners, since they undergo minimal processing during production. See also raw sugar.

Nibbed Sugar: A coarse sugar. See sanding sugar.

Organic Sugar: Sugar made from 100% USDA-certified organic sugar cane, which is grown and produced without the use of herbicides, pesticides or chemicals. Read more about organic sugar.

Palm Sugar: Sugar produced from the nectar of the palmyra or sugar palm tree. Farmers tap the palm flower spikes to release the juice, which is kettle-boiled until it thickens into a golden sugar. It has a unique flavor with an aroma of smoke and caramel. Palm sugar is very similar to coconut sugar; the chief difference is that coconut sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm.

Palm sugar is available at iGourmet.

Panela or Panocha or Piloncillo: An unbleached and unrefined sweetener made from sugar cane that resembles brown sugar; because it is unprocessed it contains mor minerals than brown sugar, which is a refined product. It is available in a brick that is golden or brown in color, and is made into sweets and hot and cold beverages. Panela is found in Colombia, a variation called piloncillo is found in Mexico and rapadura is made in Venezuela; they are related to the jaggery of India and to muscovado sugar.

Organic panela is available from Alibaba.com.

Pancake Syrup: This is generally corn syrup with artificial colors and flavors that emulate maple syrup. Some products contain a small percentage of real maple syrup.

Party Sugar: See rock candy and sugar crystals.

Pearl Sugar: The same as sanding sugar, one of the coarse sugars.

Powdered Sugar: See confectioner’s sugar.

Rapadura or Muscovado Sugar: Pure dried sugar cane juice, it is often found in brick form but due to growing popularity among specialty food buyers, is now available in granulated form. Largely produced at sugar cane plantations in the very warm tropical regions, the brick was originally created as an easier way to transport sugar. In Venezuela it is an essential ingredient for many recipes; in some parts of the country, it is used instead of refined sugar as a more accessible, cheaper and healthier sweetener. Like other raw sugars, rapadura sugar keeps its molasses content and thus all the vitamins and minerals in the natural, unrefined sugar cane juice. See also muscovado sugar.

From top left, clockwise: white sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, rapadura sugar. Photo by Romain Behar | Wikipedia Commons.

Raw Sugar or Unrefined Sugar: Raw sugars are unrefined brown sugars (they can be from yellow to brown in color). A variety of raw sugars are made by crystallizing evaporated cane juice, which is boiled down to a crystalline solid, then purifying the product slightly (with minimal chemical processing). The “original” sugar was brown; as with rice, flour and other foods, over time as man devised refining techniques, the more labor-intensive and expensive “white” foods became preferred by the elite who could afford them, even though, ironically, they have less flavor (and we now know that they have much less nutritive value as well). Raw sugar appeals to consumers who do not like processed foods, and/or who like the more complex flavors and better nutrition. These are unrefined brown sugars, will contain 85% to 98% sucrose, compared to 99% sucrose for regular granulated (white) sugar. Varieties generally available include demerara, muscovado, and turbinado; the colors range from tan-(turbinado) to brown and dark brown (demerara and muscovado) and have rich and distinctive flavors that enhance recipes. Commercial raw sugars are not produced from beet sugar. See also whole sweeteners.
Photo by J. Gabriel | SXC.

Rice Syrup: Made from soaked and sprouted rice (sometimes a combination of rice and barley), which is dried and cooked down to a thick syrup. Rice syrup contains a high level of maltose, which gives it a low glycemic index. It has a deep, earthy flavor; some people like to flavor chai tea with it. See also barley syrup.

Rock Candy: A simple hard candy made by allowing a concentrated sugar syrup to evaporate slowly until it crystallizes into chunks. The crystals can be formed around strings or small sticks—the latter can be used as stirring sticks for beverages and can be colored and flavored.

Rock candy swizzle sticks from
OldNaplesChocolate.com.

Rock Sugar: Similar to rock candy, rock sugar is made in the form of amber-colored crystals, the result of sugar cooked until it begins to color. It is not as sweet as regular granulated sugar, and is used to sweeten certain Chinese teas and meat glazes. It can be found in the U.S. packaged as party sugar crystals.

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