Turbinado Sugar Vs Demerara Sugar

: Everything You Need to Know Before Baking

Quick Summary

While turbinado and demerara sugars appear alike, they vary in size of crystals, flavour and their culinary use. Knowing how they differ from brown sugar gives you the knowledge to select the correct sweetener that fits your baking needs, finishing desserts, drinks and creative recipes.

Deep Dive

Turbinado and demerara are cane sugars from which only a minimal amount of molasses is removed, thus yielding them the well-known golden colour and caramel taste. Though both can typically be used as substitutes, their crystal size and flavour intensity make each suitable for its own purpose. Knowing such differences is crucial for getting the desired result in baking and desserts.

Turbinado Sugar, Demerara Sugar and Brown Sugar: Understanding the Basics

Before proceeding any further, it is important to understand how these sugars relate to each other. Granulated sugar is pure, refined sugar with no taste. Meanwhile, brown sugar is simply refined white sugar combined with molasses. Turbinado and demerara sugars are both types of less-refined cane sugar that still contain molasses. Both of these sugar types are notable for their golden colour and caramel flavour. Muscovado, meanwhile, is darker, stickier, and much richer in molasses than either variety.

Turbinado Sugar Vs Demerara Sugar: The Key Differences

Although they are very similar in appearance, there are still slight differences between them. Turbinado is somewhat smoother than demerara, as its crystals are smaller and its caramel flavour is milder. However, demerara is known for its large crystals and a strong toffee taste. In addition, both types are very slow to dissolve, which is an issue in cases when sugar must dissolve quickly.

Best Uses in Cooking and Baking

Turbinado sugar is useful when sprinkled on muffins, cookies, scones, pie crusts and fruit crisps due to its hard crystalline consistency. The sugar crystals do not lose their crunchiness while baking. Demerara sugar works in the same way and is primarily used as a finishing sugar for quick breads, pastries and hot cereals. Besides that, both sugars add an interesting, caramel-like taste to coffee, tea and cocktails, rather than just sweetness.

Creative Ways to Use These Sugars

Besides baking, turbinado and demerara sugars can make the most out of simple desserts. The layer of turbinado sugar can be torched on top of cold custard and will make an amazing crème brûlée topping. Demerara sugar adds the crunchiness of baked grapefruit, roasted peaches and caramelised bananas too. Both sugars are also nice for cocktail rims and can be sprinkled on cinnamon toast or baked apples for extra flavour and texture.

Can They Replace Each Other?

Yes, in most cases. Turbinado and demerara sugars are similar enough to be used interchangeably in most cases, especially as toppings. It should be noted, however, that because both sugars are coarsely crystalline in nature, they might not be suitable substitutes for brown sugar in recipes where quick dissolving is important. The higher moisture content in brown sugar brings about softer cookies and cakes than both sugars can provide.

Choosing the Right Sugar for Your Kitchen

If your preference is to have a caramel-like sweetness, turbinado sugar might be the best choice of sugar to be used regularly as a finishing sugar. If you wish to have a crunch and perhaps some toffee flavour, demerara sugar would be preferred. Brown sugar would be the best choice in those recipes that require moisture and gumminess.

Conclusion

Though turbinado and demerara sugars are similar, their distinction comes with crystal sizes and the flavour profile that comes into play while using them for purposes in cooking and baking. Instead of comparing them and deciding which is better, you should choose the sugar variety that best fits the recipe's requirements. Whether it's mellowing the baked goods, adding sweetness to drinks, or caramelising, choosing the right sugar helps in improving flavour greatly in the dish with its unique properties.