Muscovado Sugar: The Healthy Brown Sugar

Muscovado - it sounds like a pricey high end drink or a rich meal, but in fact it is yet another form of sugar. Often called the "poor man's sugar" it is a natural sugar that is unrefined and often compared to brown sugar. Muscovado sugar is quite different in many aspects; the most important that it is a natural sugar in that it is not processed like white or brown sugar.

According to Wilderness Family Naturals, muscovado sugar still retains all natural ingredients of sugar cane. This makes the sugar very dark brown, coarser and sticker as well as a more pronounced molasses flavor. Brown sugar is nothing more that white sugar with molasses added whereas muscovado sugar gets it pronounced flavor from the sugar cane itself.

The people at Sugar India state that muscovado sugar is also better in that it only has eleven calories per teaspoon, but also contains such minerals as calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron in trace amounts. Muscovado sugar can be used in place of brown sugar if a more noticeable flavor of molasses is wanted or needed. It can be used on breakfast cereals (hot oatmeal is best), as the caramel in caramel corn, in making rum cakes, in barbeque sauces and even baked beans. These ideas are but a few suggestions. Unfortunately, muscovado sugar can be hard to find in a local grocery store, but can be found in Asian or Latin food stores; it can even be purchased online at such places as www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com or www.sugarindia.com. The only aspect that brown sugar has with muscovado sugar is the fact that if exposed to air it will harden. It is best stored in an air tight container. If the sugar does become hard, it can be brought back to its original state by simply placing it in a plastic zip top bag with a wedge of apple for two to three days. The moisture from the apple will re-hydrate the sugar.

Muscovado sugar is made differently from white or brown sugar. It is a time consuming process that is a follows: (1) The sugarcane is washed, chopped, soaked and finally pressed to extract its juice; (2) It is then heated with Kalmansi (a tiny lime similar to a Key Lime) juice. The meat from a coconut is scraped for its juice which is also added (this prevents the sugar from foaming; (3) The mixture is brought to a boil and continues until thicken; (4) Once thicken, it is poured out into small cups where it is allowed to finish drying in the sun; (5) When dry, it holds the form of the cup. It is then pounded to breakdown into the same constancy of brown sugar, but since it is a natural sugar there will be color variations (Source: Wilderness Family Naturals).