What is the difference between fine sugar and granulated sugar?
(I) Generally speaking, white sugar mainly includes fine sugar and granulated sugar. Many friends don't know which one to buy when they go to buy sugar. The main reason is that the prices of these two are different. So, what are the differences between them?
Particle Size:
Fine sugar is pure white with very fine particles, looking like snow and feeling soft and fluffy. It is very hygroscopic. Fine sugar is best for direct consumption, especially in cold drinks and desserts, but it is not suitable for making high-end pastries.
Granulated sugar is pure white with sand-like particles, each one clearly distinct. It makes a "sandy" sound when poured out.
Production Process:
Fine sugar is made by adding invert syrup to fine-grained white sugar.
Granulated sugar is made from sugarcane or sugar beets through processes of juice extraction, clarification, boiling, crystallization, separation, and drying.
Use in Baking:
Granulated sugar is more suitable for syrups used in bread and pastries. Its granular nature makes it crispy and very suitable for the outer layer of cookies (sugar as a baking ingredient).
Fine sugar tends to color the product more easily and dissolves more readily in dough. It is generally more suitable for cakes and fillings, but it can also burn and turn black more easily if the heat is too high.
Price Comparison:
Generally speaking, for the same brand, fine sugar is slightly more expensive than granulated sugar. This could be due to the production process or possibly its moisture content.
How to prevent white sugar from getting damp?
White sugar is prone to clumping when it absorbs moisture. To prevent this, store it at home in a place with low humidity, not in damp areas like the kitchen.
What to do with damp, clumped white sugar?
1. Place the damp sugar in a microwave-safe container, add a small piece of bread, and heat in the microwave on high for about 30 to 60 seconds. The clumps will disappear.
2. If the sugar has already clumped, put a few apple pieces in the container with the sugar, cover it, and the next day the clumps will have loosened. Then, remove the apple pieces.
10 Clever Uses for White Sugar:
1. When stir-frying bitter melon, add some white sugar and a little vinegar. This not only reduces the bitterness but also makes the dish particularly fresh and delicious.
2. When cooking with soy sauce, there is often a sour taste. Adding some sugar during cooking can eliminate this sourness.
3. If a dish is too salty, adding some sugar can reduce the saltiness.
4. Adding some sugar to dumpling filling gives it a delicious, savory flavor similar to dried shrimp. When stewing meat, making caramel sugar gives the dish a bright, red, glossy appearance, a sweet and delicious taste, and makes it rich without being greasy.
5. Adding sugar to fish and meat dishes makes the taste fresh and not greasy.
6. When making cured meat, adding sugar keeps the meat tender and fresh.
7. Adding a little white sugar to good-quality lard, mixing it well, and sealing it can preserve the mellow aroma of the lard.
8. When cooking ham, first coat the skin with some white sugar. This makes the ham skin easier to cook and the taste will be more savory and delicious.
9. For dried foods like dried scallops, adding some white sugar to the soaking water can shorten the soaking time.
10. Before frying chestnuts, soak them in sugar water overnight. After boiling, the inner skin of the chestnuts will come off very easily.
A small note: When eating some foods, it's best not to dip them in raw white sugar. The correct way is to heat it at a high temperature for 3-5 minutes before eating. Friends, consuming an appropriate amount of white sugar in life helps the body absorb calcium, but too much can hinder calcium absorption. So, eat sugar in moderation!
II) After introducing white sugar, let's talk about rock sugar. Rock sugar is a re-crystallized product of granulated sugar. Naturally formed rock sugar can be white, pale yellow, or light gray. Rock sugar is divided into single-crystal and multi-crystal varieties. Many friends find it difficult to distinguish between these two types. Today, let's compare their differences, hoping you will find it helpful!
Production Process:
1. Multi-crystal rock sugar is the traditional, old-fashioned rock sugar. It has various medicinal effects in Traditional Chinese Medicine, while single-crystal rock sugar does not. This is mainly related to the production process. Multi-crystal rock sugar is made by heating white sugar and water to 118-120°C, then cooling and crystallizing it at a constant temperature for 7 days. In contrast, single-crystal rock sugar is simply made by dissolving white sugar in water at 80°C, forming a supersaturated solution as it cools, and then crystallizing. Its effects are similar to granulated sugar, but it is purer.
2. Multi-crystal rock sugar is categorized by color, mainly including white, pale yellow, and light gray. White rock sugar is the most common type, usually "one-water" or "two-water" rock sugar, while "three-water" or "four-water" rock sugar is pale yellow. Unclarified rock sugar is light gray. Theoretically, pale yellow rock sugar, having been boiled 3-4 times, is more effective. However, many companies now add coloring directly to white rock sugar because the yield of 3-4 water rock sugar is lower and its cost is higher than white rock sugar.
Use in Cooking:
1. Rock sugar also has the effect of "coloring" in cooking. When chefs "caramelize sugar," they generally choose multi-crystal rock sugar for its more natural flavor.
2. However, at the same temperature, small pieces of single-crystal rock sugar melt more easily, making it more convenient in cooking. Additionally, if you are making soups like bird's nest rock sugar at home, large pieces of rock sugar need to be broken, which is very troublesome. Single-crystal rock sugar is more convenient in this regard. This is the small difference in cooking.