What is the culinary difference...

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there
noticeable differences in cooking properties or taste?

Nope, they're pretty much the same.

Quoted message said:

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard
that beet sugar was "less desirable". True/false?

I had always heard the same things. It's not true; it's excellent marketing
from the cane sugar folks.

Now if you want to get into the socio-politico-economic issues about sugar
beets, that's a whole different issue. 🙂
-j

On Wed 14 Sep 2005 10:06:15p, jacqui{JB} wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable
differences in cooking properties or taste?

Nope, they're pretty much the same.

Thanks!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was
"less desirable". True/false?

I had always heard the same things. It's not true; it's excellent
marketing from the cane sugar folks.

Not surprising. Happens with so many things.

Quoted message said:

Now if you want to get into the socio-politico-economic issues about
sugar beets, that's a whole different issue. 🙂
-j

Nope, just want to keep it in the kitchen! :-)

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

There was a great article in the Washington Post about a year or so
ago...at least I think it was that newspaper. May have been another
one.

Anyway, beet sugar doesn't perform in the same way as cane sugar, and
doesn't caramelize as well. Not as good for baking, from what I
remember. There were other differences too, but now I cannot
remember them.

Their recommendation was to use cane sugar.

Christine

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL

Christine

On Wed 14 Sep 2005 10:38:51p, Christine Dabney wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences
in cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03
/31/FD91867.DTL

Christine

Thank you, Christine. That must have been the basis for what I had heard.
Interesting article. That would explain the "painted" brown sugar I bought
a while back. It had both a strange look and texture.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31
/FD91867.DTL

Very interesting article -- thanks for posting the link.

Perhaps that *is* the problem with the brown sugar I buy here in DK, versus
the C&H I used to buy in the US. I know the sugar in DK is generally beet
sugar (or so I've been told). I haven't had problems with the granulated
sugar, although it tends to be more coarse than I'm used to (again, C&H),
but the brown sugar is noticeably more wet than C&H and I've been uniformly
unhappy with cookies which rely only on brown sugar.

Powdered sugar here is also different, but that may well be because of the
anticaking agent (it seems to be impossible to get powdered sugar without
and yes, I've looked), which means using said powdered sugar without a
significant amount of liquid or in a cooked application -- say, regular cake
frosting -- yields a gritty end product. Not pleasant. Anyway ...

Thanks for the info. I'll have to investigate further.
-j

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*

White sugar from either source is almost pure sucrose, I would be amazed if
an objective test showed any discernible difference.

David

In article <[email hidden]>, Wayne Boatwright

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable
differences in cooking properties or taste?

Quoted message said:

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

Chemically, I understand them to be the same. I also know of candy
makers who won't use anything but cane sugar. Beet sugar is cheaper.
I've never noticed a difference in properties when I make sweet
spreads.

Maybe beet sugar is less desirable because it's "so common."
JMO.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am! updated 9-12-05

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL

Christine

Thanks for the article link. It is really a good one.

In the article, two sentences:

"Consumers, however, don't have the luxury of knowing what they're getting.
Labeling law doesn't require a cane or beet designation. C & H is the only
mass-market producer to do so; other refiners decline."

and

"If the 'supplier' is Holly, it's beet sugar."

Even though the article says no one can tell the difference in a taste
test, inadvertently, "my body" recognized the difference between these two
products a number of years ago. Now even though I don't prefer to buy 'by
brand,' I do choose C&H because it does label their box (bags).
Dee Dee

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

Very true. I bought the "store brand" sugar once, assuming
it was pure cane sugar. Once I tasted it I knew something was
wrong. I checked the bag and saw that it was beet sugar.
It was horrid. I'll never make that mistake again. Pure
cane sugar is the only way to go.
Kate

Dee Randall said:

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL

Christine

Thanks for the article link. It is really a good one.

In the article, two sentences:

"Consumers, however, don't have the luxury of knowing what they're getting.
Labeling law doesn't require a cane or beet designation. C & H is the only
mass-market producer to do so;

I beg to differ. Domino Sugar says it's pure cane sugar.
Domino is the Eastern US (or at least Pittsburgh area) equivalent
of C&H. When I lived in CA I bought C&H and now in Pgh. I
buy Domino. They're identical. However the time I bought the
store brand because it was on sale and I was broke, I bought
it because I figured, sugar's sugar, right? I assumed it was
cane. After I taste it I realized it wasn't and checked to
find out it was beet. Big difference, not just in baking,
etc. but in actual taste, as in when you use it for cinnamon
sugar to make cinnamon toast, or when you put it in tea or
lemonade. You can (well, I can) taste the difference.

Quoted message said:

other refiners decline."

and

"If the 'supplier' is Holly, it's beet sugar."

Even though the article says no one can tell the difference in a taste
test, inadvertently, "my body" recognized the difference between these two
products a number of years ago. Now even though I don't prefer to buy 'by
brand,' I do choose C&H because it does label their box (bags).
Dee Dee

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I don't know anything aboutr this topic, but I think I will learn and
then become a food snob at parties.... Nah, I won't really. But that's
what some of these debates are really about, IMO.

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 16:22:11 +0200, jake <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I don't know anything aboutr this topic, but I think I will learn and
then become a food snob at parties.... Nah, I won't really. But that's
what some of these debates are really about, IMO.

Well...some of these, play out in practical terms, not just a
theoretical debate. Like this one.

Try both types of sugar in a recipe that you know, and see for
yourself if there is any difference.

Christine

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

To my taste I cannot tell, to be honest. Far as I was aware they are
chemically the same sugar - sucrose. So they should not be any different
culinary, outside of possibly crystal texture... ?

Shaun aRe

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31
/FD91867.DTL

Quoted message said:

Christine

Well well well! Thanks Christine - I love learning ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

"Wayne Boatwright" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

It is my understanding that after refining, that both are exactly the same -
both are pure sucrose.
(which, BTW, is a linked molecule of glucose and fructose, the only two
carbohydrates which pass into the bloodstream)

The respective marketing groups of cane and beet sugar once implied that
there is a difference.

However, the stuff is so cleaned and processed, I would find it hard to
imagine any detectable difference in a lab or in cooking. The size of the
granual would have more effect than the plant source when cooking.

However, a paraphrase of Einstein's greatest premise always applies - the
lab's result always trumps the book's theory.

I am curious to see if anyone with first-hand use experience has had
discernable differences using the two.

Quoted message said:

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Okay, okay, I take it back! UnScrew you!

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

I found the article I read. It was the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL

Quoted message said:

thank you for the article. One still learns something every day -

Since I have only used C&H baker's sugar (cane-based) at home for years,
I haven't ever had any experience with problems from beet sugar-

I will have to buy some beet sugar and try an experiment at home with the
two in the near future -

------ I did a little further checking, and tests from decades ago had
showed no difference - perhaps the latest modern process creates a
less-refined sugar than that of 35 years ago
(this is not an uncommon engineering problem - typically, someone steeped
in theory but lacking in-depth experience is put in charge and doesn't know
why that extra "inefficient" step was in there - and so they remove it,
congratulating themselves on saving themselves a buck by cutting a "useless"
step.
And then in short while, their bosses call my firm in to find out why they
are having "an odd problem" with their process/machine/system. Happens a
lot.)

Now I really am curious as to what "minute amount of whatever" residue
is left in the sugar process/packaging/shipping that so adversely affected
their results. If its effects are that dramatic affecting sugar, where else
is "the stuff" in the kitchen?

Anyway, I have some chemist contacts at GF and GMills - if I find
anything definitive as to the theory of it all, I'll post it.

thanks again for the post..

Quoted message said:

Christine

Christine Dabney said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

...between cane sugar and beet sugar? Are there noticeable differences in
cooking properties or taste?

I have always bought cane sugar and have heard that beet sugar was "less
desirable". True/false?

There was a great article in the Washington Post about a year or so
ago...at least I think it was that newspaper. May have been another
one.

Anyway, beet sugar doesn't perform in the same way as cane sugar, and
doesn't caramelize as well. Not as good for baking, from what I
remember. There were other differences too, but now I cannot
remember them.

Their recommendation was to use cane sugar.

Christine

Beets for sugar will be harvesting soon here. I know this because
inlaws grow them. The problem is the bags of sugar do not list where
the sugar came from most times so the consumer has know way of knowing
whether the sugar is cane or beet 🙁

Melba's Jammin said:

Maybe beet sugar is less desirable because it's "so common."
JMO.

Some vegans will not eat cane sugar. Apparently *some* cane
sugar is processed with bone char, which counts as an animal
product to some vegans, and it's impossible to know if the
cane sugar you have was processed that way or not. Beet sugar
is never processed with bone char.

Actually, the only time I have heard a real preference for
cane sugar is in soft drinks like Coke where the substitute is
corn syrup, not beet sugar. Some folks go out of their way to
buy the "Kosher for Passover" Coke since it has to be made
with cane sugar for reasons I don't even pretend to understand,
so I don't know where kosher laws stand with regard to beet sugar.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.