In my quest to find ever new and exciting ways to mask chicken for my picky beef craving boyfriend I came across a recipe for slow cooker sweet and spicy chicken that I couldn’t wait to try. As I was gathering my ingredients, I found, to my dismay, that I was out of brown sugar. Ever seeking new ways to avoid having to go to the grocery store if I don’t have to, I found a tutorial on instructables that has a recipe for making brown sugar.
Say what?
You heard me: homemade brown sugar! I was dubious but figured if it would save me a trip to the store it’d be worth a try.
All there is to it is a cup of sugar and a tablespoon of molasses (or more or less depending on how light or dark you want the sugar to be). Then just moosh it up with a fork.
1 Cup Sugar and 1 Tbsp Molasses
Post Fork-Smooshing
And wow. What a surprise! It was super easy, had that brown sugar texture and taste and fit the bill in a pinch.
ZOMG! Brown Sugar?!?
I did a little quick reading on our friendly neighborhood Wikipedia about brown sugar since this seems entirely too easy and learned that although this is the method that is basically used in the creation of commercial brown sugar, there is big difference between this method and natural brown sugar. With this method, molasses is added back in after refinement where as with natural brown sugar, the molasses is never taken out in the first place.
What I ponder is this: I bet natural brown sugar, though less processed, probably costs a ton more at the store (I’d have to check). It is a sad state of affairs when a higher degree of refinement, which produces more pollution and waste, lead to a product that is cheaper than a similar, higher quality product in its more natural form. This, though, is straying down into a headier topic and frankly my soapbox is buried under a bunch of other things I need to do today, so this discussion is on the back burner.
This leads me to two diy-brown-sugar related thoughts:
- Is this more economical than actually buying brown sugar out right? Granted, I can make as much as I need and never have to worry about the brick of brown sugar that can happen if it isn’t stored properly (though I learned that lesson long ago so hard sweet boulders of sugar seldom happen in my cupboard anymore). To answer this question will require math, something I am not inclined to do at this moment… though it is something I intend to research…. eventually…. when I am in a math mood…. which could or could not happen – ever..
- Can I just dump in the cup of sugar and the tablespoon of molasses without the technical “smooshing” phase? I am guessing for a recipe like the slow cooker one currently bubbling in the pot on my counter it wouldn’t matter, but baking is a finicky-ier art wherein textures and the process itself can really matter, so I think I kind of answered my own question on that one.
Well, that’s it for now on this topic. I am pretty stoked that I have learned another grocery-trip-saving tip though as well as am now educated a bit more on the not-so-complex process of making brown sugar.
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