# Do I REALLY NEED Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the raw) for this recipe???



## kleenex (Nov 21, 2011)

I got this basic recipe for a rub that is supposed to go on a piece of pork for a pork roast.

The recipe wants to use 4.5tsp Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the raw) and I am wondering if I can just use just plain old ordinary store brand granulated sugar instead???

Is the flavor going to be that different???


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## Andy M. (Nov 21, 2011)

Use brown sugar to replace the turbinado.  Dark or light - your choice.

You could get by with granulated but the brown is a better choice.


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## pacanis (Nov 21, 2011)

Yes, the flavor is going to be different if you use plain old sugar. White granulated sugar doesn't have the maple flavor. Substitute brown sugar instead if you have it.
That said though, I always have some turbinado sugar on hand. I can make large quantities of rub and it won't clump during storage. Turbinado sugar is my goto sugar for rubs.


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## mudbug (Nov 21, 2011)

I would go with turbinado.  It's a texture thing.


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## Oldvine (Nov 21, 2011)

Do brown sugar if you have it,or white if you don't.  In your kitchen you are the boss and can use what ever you want.   If you get a bag of the turbinado it will last a long time, the bag I have has not clumped.


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## sparrowgrass (Nov 22, 2011)

Turbinado tastes like very light brown sugar to me.  And the texture won't make a difference--the rub will absorb moisture out of the meat and dissolve.

I do keep  turbinado around--its big crystals make a nice crunch on sugar cookies or pie crust.  Stick a vanilla bean into the container for a little extra flavor!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 22, 2011)

I use "turbinado" exclusively.  I love the taste.


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## Javier (Nov 22, 2011)

I use turbinado sugar. Its the texture and the deep maple taste that differ it from just plain table sugar.


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## TATTRAT (Nov 22, 2011)

I am thrown off by the maple comments, it's from sugar cane right? It's the molasses that makes the brown color and fuller flavor, I dunno, I hear maple and think of Vermont Syrup.


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## Effington (Nov 22, 2011)

While baking may be extremely precise as far as ingredients go, dry rubs are probably the exact opposite end of that spectrum. I always deviate from recipes or just use them as jumping off points for creating my own rub, since I do a lot of grilling and smoking. 

In this recipe, I suspect that the difference between turbinado and brown sugar would be negligible. But turbinado sugar - an ingredient I largely ignored for a long time - really is a great product and worth having on hand... for everything from baking to your morning coffee. 

But for a rub, brown sugar will be fine.


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## pacanis (Nov 22, 2011)

TATTRAT said:


> I am thrown off by the maple comments, it's from sugar cane right? It's the molasses that makes the brown color and fuller flavor, I dunno, I hear maple and think of Vermont Syrup.


 
Molasses! That's it.


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## Effington (Nov 22, 2011)

Here's the main different, as I understand it, between "raw" sugars like turbinado and demarara and brown sugars...

Sugar cane processing produces two main components - sugar and molasses. White sugar has been processed so that all of the molasses has been removed. Brown sugar is just white sugar with the molasses re-added in different amounts (light or dark). Turbinado sugar is less processed and still has molasses content in it.


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## TATTRAT (Nov 22, 2011)

Effington said:


> Here's the main different, as I understand it, between "raw" sugars like turbinado and demarara and brown sugars...
> 
> Sugar cane processing produces two main components - sugar and molasses. White sugar has been processed so that all of the molasses has been removed. Brown sugar is just white sugar with the molasses re-added in different amounts (light or dark). Turbinado sugar is less processed and still has molasses content in it.



that is basically it. turbinado sugar gets it's name from the centrifuges that spin it. Got to go to a mill in Hawaii, pretty cool process, but lots of cane spiders. . .I hate spiders.


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## Effington (Nov 22, 2011)

TATTRAT said:


> that is basically it. turbinado sugar gets it's name from the centrifuges that spin it. Got to go to a mill in Hawaii, pretty cool process, but lots of cane spiders. . .I hate spiders.



I did a little Google-Fu and found that turbinado sugar is classified as "natural brown sugar," that is sugar that naturally has molasses due to less processing, rather than having it re-introduced like most baking brown sugar. 



> Golden coloured natural brown sugar is produced by extracting the juice from sugar cane, heating it to evaporate water and crystallise the sugar, then spinning in a centrifuge to remove some impurities and further dry the sugar. It is commonly used in baking and to sweeten beverages such as coffee and tea.



There are two main types - Demerara sugar is used more in the UK and is named after Demerara colony of Guyana. Turbinado is used more in the US, is produced mainly in Hawaii and, like Tatt said, is named for the turbine centrifuge used to make it. There are slight taste differences between the two, but they're largely interchangeable.

I have also used it to make invert sugar or simple syrup.


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## sparrowgrass (Nov 23, 2011)

So, in a recipe with other spices and flavors, I don't think anyone would be able to tell whether the molasses in a couple spoonfuls of sugar was left in or added back after processing!


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## CWS4322 (Nov 23, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Molasses! That's it.


 I was a bit confused too--I have made maple sugar when evapping sap, and I would never confuse maple syrup/sugar for any of the "brown" or raw sugars discussed....but, I guess each one tastes things a bit differently.


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## pacanis (Nov 23, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> I was a bit confused too--I have made maple sugar when evapping sap, and I would never confuse maple syrup/sugar for any of the "brown" or raw sugars discussed....but, I guess each one tastes things a bit differently.


 
I think they taste very different.
It was probably a case of them both beginning with the letter M and providing a brownish color. I simply typed the wrong word.


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