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Can you sub Pure cane sugar for regular sugar?

post #1 of 10
8/9/07 at 3:02am
Thread Starter 
Can you sub Pure cane sugar for regular sugar?
or is it mucher sweeter?
Do you have to cut it in half? Like if a recipe calls for 1 cup sugar you should use 1/2 cup of pure cane organic sugar?
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post #2 of 10
8/9/07 at 9:14am
My understanding is that sugar (the white granulated sold in paper bags) is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. The packaging will state if it's pure cane sugar, like Domino. I have used it and the regular ole store brands which are most likely beet sugars and can't tell a difference. I've used them in baking and most importantly to me, in my sweet iced tea. lol

Take my knowledge with a grain of salt! I'm no pro!

Edited: In researching on the web, I found the chemically both cane and beet sugar is the same. Some say it makes a difference in how baked goods turn out while others say it doesn't. I also saw some references that sugar sold in the US is from cane while sugar used in processed foods is usually beet sugar. I really didn't see much to ensure accuracy for the different claims.
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post #3 of 10
8/9/07 at 9:26am
Beware of Beet sugar with spinning, pulling or pouring sugar......caramelizes
a little differently as well.....
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post #4 of 10
8/10/07 at 9:58am
I use only cane sugar. I believe C&H brand (the one I usually use) makes only pure cane sugar. The best of their products for consistency of crystal size and therefore better control to the cook/chef is what they call "bakers sugar". Unless I'm going with golden or brown sugar, I use bakers.
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post #5 of 10
8/13/07 at 11:41am
When a label on a food product reads "sugar" it means sucrose. Whether its cane or beet sourced it doesn't matter. Any other sweetner, ie. dextrose, fructose, invert, etc., must be identified by its true name. If the bag in the supermarket says "cane", it is from sugar cane. If "cane" is not on the bag it is most likely beet although there may be a situation (rare) where the prosessor is sourcing from both types and may even blend (again rare). Both cane and beet sugar (sucrose) rate 100 on the sweetness scale for sweetners.

Chemically cane & beet are the same but... I have found that beet tends to "feel" damp and many times has an odor associated with it that you do not ever notice with cane. Beet has been known to possibly be the cause of peculiar issues especially with baked products.

Beet is cheaper; that's why large manufacturers use it. Do yourself a favor and use cane. You just might avoid a peculiar issue.
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post #6 of 10
8/13/07 at 11:47am
When a label on a food product reads "sugar" it means sucrose. Whether its cane or beet sourced it doesn't matter. Any other sweetner, ie. dextrose, fructose, invert, etc., must be identified by its true name. If the bag in the supermarket says "cane", it is from sugar cane. If "cane" is not on the bag it is most likely beet although there may be a situation (rare) where the prosessor is sourcing from both types and may even blend (again rare). Both cane and beet sugar (sucrose) rate 100 on the sweetness scale for sweetners.

Chemically cane & beet are the same but... I have found that beet tends to "feel" damp and many times has an odor associated with it that you do not ever notice with cane. Beet has been known to possibly be the cause of peculiar issues especially with baked products.

Beet is cheaper; that's why large manufacturers use it. Do yourself a favor and use cane. You just might avoid a peculiar issue.
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post #7 of 10
8/13/07 at 12:57pm
I went to the C&H Sugar website and after being mildly amused at their recipe for "unsweetened brownies", I found this comparison of cane versus beet sugar:

http://www.chsugar.com/Consumer/cane_vs_beet.html
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post #8 of 10
8/13/07 at 1:17pm
Maybe it's in my head, but beet sugar doesn't taste as sweet to me as cane sugar.

The first time I saw sugar beets growing, I was on a small farm in the Danube valley in Austria. The farmer grew the beets to feed his dairy cows (and maybe his pigs, too). Seems to be a lot less difficult to grow sugar beets than sugar cane- at least when it comes to harvesting.
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post #9 of 10
8/13/07 at 5:01pm
Where the difference comes in is where the sugar itself comes from on the plant. In beet sugar it comes from the root of the plant, where as in cane sugar it comes from the leaves or stalk. Beet sugar is generally not as pure or clean.
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post #10 of 10
8/13/07 at 7:28pm
Here's some more sugar info you all might find quite interesting.

Vegetarian Journal Mar/Apr 97 Sugar and Other Sweeteners -- The Vegetarian Resource Group
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