[net.cooks] what is brown sugar?

colonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman) (02/01/85)

> In article <1833@drutx.UUCP> eac@drutx.UUCP (CveticEA) writes:
> >Don't assume that you aren't eating white sugar when you use brown sugar
> >instead--brown sugar is white sugar mixed with molasses.
> 
> This is not true.  White sugar is made with more refinement then brown
> sugar,  or perhaps more correctly by removing the molasses from the
> brown sugar.

I believe that federal law prohibits transporting unrefined or partially
refined sugar across state lines.  Thus, unless you live in Louisiana,
your brown sugar is almost certainly made by mixing white sugar with
molasses.

The purpose of the law is to protect the U.S. sugar refining industry.

Can anybody confirm this information?
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
...seismo!rochester!rocksanne!rocksvax!sunybcs!gloria!colonel

bobc@tikal.UUCP (Bob Campbell) (02/05/85)

From the book Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer

    BROWN OR BARBADOES SUGAR
    This is a less refined and moister beet or cane sugar which comes
    light or dark...

I was also told by people working for U&I (now defunct I believe?)
that U&I did not produce any Brown Sugar, but bought it because the
flavor of the brown sugar coming from beets in Washington, Idaho, and
Utah was not sellable.  (The molasses generated in the process was sold
as cattle feed.)

I have even seen raw sugar for sale in Washington State produced by C&H
in Hawaii.  Raw sugar is made by removing the molasses but with little
or no cooking.