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Sugar

Sweeteners & chocolate · Sugars

Sugar

Refined white sucrose crystals from cane or beet; sweetens and also tenderises, browns, preserves and aerates.

Also called: white sugar, granulated sugar, caster sugar, superfine sugar, cheeni, şeker, azúcar

744 recipes with it

Photo: Romain Behar, via Wikimedia Commons (public-domain)

What it is

White granulated sugar is pure sucrose refined from sugar cane or sugar beet. Caster (superfine) sugar is the same but finer, so it dissolves fast in meringues and sponges; icing sugar is powdered. In baking sugar does much more than sweeten: it holds moisture, tenderises by limiting gluten, helps whip air into butter and eggs, caramelises and browns, and preserves jams.

How it’s used

  • Creaming with butter for cakes and cookies
  • Meringues and sponges (caster)
  • Caramel and syrups
  • Jams, preserves and candied fruit
  • Balancing acidity in sauces and dressings

Characteristics

Taste
Clean sweetness.
When cooked
Melts and caramelises from about 160 °C; syrups can crystallise if stirred or seeded with stray crystals.
Sold as
whole, powder
Cooking uses
Suitable for baking, Mainly a seasoning

Kinds in our pantry

Storage

Pantry-stable. Airtight in a dry cupboard; keeps indefinitely. Break up lumps caused by moisture.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
387 kcal
Protein
0 g
Carbohydrate
99.98 g
Fat
0 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
99.8 g

USDA FoodData Central: Sugars, granulated.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Brown sugar — 1:1; adds moisture, colour and a caramel taste.
  • Honey — Use about 3/4 the amount, reduce liquid and lower oven temperature slightly as it browns faster.

Related ingredients

Recipes with sugar

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