All Things Sugar

by Iyath Adam

Sugar is a key ingredient in kitchens around the world, playing an important role in both sweet and savoury dishes alike. From cookies and cakes to sauces, glazes and even some types of curries, sugar helps with the flavour, texture, and colour of the dishes it is put in.

Here, we’ll look at the most common types of sugar used in the Southeast Asia region.

White Sugar

White sugar is the most common type of sugar used in cooking, baking, and beverage-making. It is made from the juice of sugar cane or sugar beets, which is then refined and filtered to extract pure sucrose, giving it that stark white colour. The taste is sweet with a very neutral profile which makes it suitable to add to dishes without overpowering its flavour.

The most common type of white sugar we use is granulated white sugar – small grains which dissolve easily. Other types include caster sugar (superfine sugar) and confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar) which are mainly used in baking due to their fine grain size. You can make these on your own, simply by grinding granulated sugar, although confectioners’ sugar has a small amount of corn starch added to prevent it from clumping.

Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is less refined compared to white sugar, containing both sugar and molasses in it, which is what gives it that golden brown colour. The flavour is richer with more caramel-like notes.

It can range from lightly browned granulated sugar to darker brown soft sugar (and vice versa); the darker the colour, the more molasses content, giving this sugar a rich, sometimes slightly bitter flavour. Some other types of brown sugar include demerara sugar, turbinado sugar and muscovado sugar – all with varying percentages of molasses in it.

Jaggery

Jaggery is made from sugarcane juice or palm sap. Unlike refined sugar, it is unprocessed and keeps more of its nutrients, giving it a rich, caramel-like flavour. It is most often sold as cylindrical blocks, and the colour can range from light golden to dark brown colour.

It is commonly used in Indian cooking, especially in making desserts and sweet snacks – adding warmth and depth to recipes – and is often seen as a healthier alternative to white sugar.

Palm Sugar

Palm sugar is a natural sweetener made from the sap of various palm trees, such as coconut, sugar or date palms. It has a complex, caramel or toffee-like flavour – depending on the type of palm from which it is extracted –  and is widely used in Southeast Asian cooking, especially in Thai, Malaysia and Indonesia. Types of palm sugar used in this region include gula melaka and gula aren – all made with sugar extracted from different varieties of palm trees.

Like jaggery, palm sugar is less refined than white sugar and adds both sweetness and depth to dishes. It is also usually sold in blocks or paste form and melts easily into sauces, curries, and desserts.

Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener made from the coconut palm blossoms. It has a light, caramel flavour and looks similar to brown sugar, but with a slightly drier texture. It is commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking, especially in Thai, Indonesian, and Filipino dishes, adding a mild sweetness to curries, sauces, and traditional desserts.

Coconut honey, also known as coconut nectar or dhiyaahakuru in Dhivehi, comes from the same sap but is left in liquid form. It's syrupy with a mildly sweet flavour and is widely used in making traditional desserts in the Maldives.