Homemade Brown Sugar

Mmmmm, brown sugar.  Just the words conjure images of baked deliciousness.  So many recipes use this wonderful brown sweetness – from bacon to desserts to chicken.  Try to imagine your favorite chocolate chip cookies without it.  Horrifying!  But what exactly is brown sugar?  I found a couple interesting links.  One, from www.ehow.com states that it’s “made from sugar cane or sugar beets…cut and squeezed for their juice, which is boiled until it thickens to molasses.”¹  It is then stripped and dried.  Foodtimeline.org is another site that always has such interesting information as well.

Like so many, I always got my sugar fix from the same place – the grocery store.  During the holidays I would literally purchase over a dozen bags for baking.  Then in 2008, while trying to dig out from under the recession avalanche, I discovered something:  a recipe for homemade brown sugar.  It HAD to be complicated, given its light, lovely texture.  I read the recipe from frugalliving.about.com.  Only two ingredients?  This had to be a misprint; it was so simple.  I scoured the internet for other recipes, but they were all exactly the same.  Just two ingredients – white sugar and unsulfured molasses.  Seriously?  Surely it wouldn’t taste like the stuff I always bought. 

I was determined to prove these simplistic recipes wrong.  Going to my baking cabinet, I pulled out a bag of white sugar and a jar of Grandma’s® molasses (doesn’t everyone have this?).  Carefully, I measured out these ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Armed with only a fork, and my determination, I proceeded to follow the directions explicitly.  “Stir with a fork until completely mixed.”²  The initial attempt produced a very lightly colored, light fluffy sugar.  It didn’t fit into the image I had of the light brown sugar I had always purchased at the store.  I attempted again, this time using my food processor and adding two tablespoons of molasses.  It was slightly more golden, but still not what I was hoping to achieve.  Each time I tried this, I added one additional tablespoon, until the sugar was saturated and could not accept more.

Just recently I switched to an organic brand of molasses (sorry Grandma!)  The initial batch, using only one tablespoon of molasses, produced a beautiful medium golden color.  I never tried a second tablespoon.

Resources:

1. http://www.ehow.com/about_5375423_history-brown-sugar.html
2.  http://frugalliving.about.com/od/foodsavings/ht/Brown-Sugar.htm
3. http://joythebaker.com/2010/08/how-to-make-brown-sugar/
4. http://browniesfordinner.com/2009/11/04/make-your-own-brown-sugar/
5. http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcandy.html#brown

 

Homemade brown sugar

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 – 2 tablespoon unsulfured organic molasses

Also needed:

• Measuring cup
• Tablespoon measuring spoon
• Fork
• Mixing bowl
• Airtight container
• Mixer with wisk or food processor (optional)

For light brown sugar: 

In a mixing bowl, combine white sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses.

 

For dark brown sugar:

Use 2 tablespoons molasses.

Stir with a fork until combined.  The initial attempts to “combine” will produce dark molasses globs and light sugar areas.  Keep going a little while longer.  This also gives your forearms a nice workout.  Don’t forget to switch hands.   If using a mixer or food processor this will progress quickly; you will have to find another way to work out.

Soon, approximately 5 minutes if using the fork method, you will have beautiful golden brown sugar to use in your favorite recipes.

Store in an airtight container.