All about Muscovado sugar

Read on to know more about muscovado sugar!

People are trying out healthier alternatives to sweeten their food and make merry while staying healthy. Muscovado sugar is one such food alternative that is unrefined and contains natural molasses to add sweetness to the food preparations.

Muscovado sugar is also known by other popular names- khand, khandsari, and Barbados sugar. It is made by mixing the sugar cane juice with lime and then cooking this mixture until the liquid evaporates and sugar crystals are formed upon cooling. The end product is moist and dark brown colored sugar with a texture resembling that of the wet sand.

This artisanal sugar has a high molasses content, which gives it a toffee-like taste and a slight after taste. Nutrition wise, this sugar provides the same number of calories as the white sugar along with a trace amount of potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium. Interestingly, muscovado sugar also contains some antioxidants, such as gallic acid and some other polyphenols.

Muscovado sugar is quite similar in appearance to some other refined cane sugars such as jaggery, panela, Sucanat, rapadura, and kokuto. It is best to store molasses in an airtight container to maintain its moisture content.

Here are the best ways to make use of the burnt toffee-like taste of muscovado sugar.

Add it to the barbeque sauce instead of brown sugar.

Add to brownies and other chocolate-based baked goods.

Stir into hot or cold coffee to enjoy its complex taste with a slight bitterness.

Enhance the molasses flavor in gingerbread by adding muscovado sugar instead of brown sugar.

Add it to the meat glaze.

Add it to ice-creams to best enjoy its bittersweet caramel taste.

Add to meat marinades before roasting or grilling them.

Add some to oatmeal to enjoy its rich flavor.

Add it to the pan along with popcorn kernels and then cook it all together to enjoy a sweet-salty-smoky treat.

Add it to salad dressings to give a caramel edge to the crunchy salads.

Add it to caramel or toffee preparations to give these a hint of lovely deep molasses flavor.