DIY Brown Sugar

Intro: DIY Brown Sugar

Who knew that you could MAKE your own brown sugar? Argh... Im regretting all those times I've run to the grocery store just to buy some of the stuff! By simply mixing only two ingredients, now you can always keep your brown sugar supplies ample, and not to mention, saving all that green by not having to buy any brown!

Let's get started!

STEP 1: Ingredients

For this project you will need:

Unsulphured Molasses

White granulated sugar

Optional: hand mixer (I only used this initially, but found smashing down was the best way to break up the thick molasses and evenly distribute it)

The ratio:

For every 1 cup of granulated sugar, use 1 1/2 tbls molasses.

STEP 2: Mix It Up!

Pour molasses over white sugar, and by either hand or by hand mixer, relieve some frustration by breaking up and evenly distributing molasses over the sugar. This took me about 4 minutes and I used 3 cups of sugar and 4/12 tbsp molasses.

You know you're done when there are no more chunks of molasses floating around. Ta Da! You have now unlocked one of life's greatest mysteries! Go forth and never purchase brown sugar again!

Comments

[zoescheerleader]

Is there anything you can use instead of "Molasses" because I have absolutely no clue of what that is!!

[Dancer10]

Tht was a good

[V31JoePalooka]

That is another new one, deicing roads with molasses! Down here, as a certified pesticide applicator, I use molasses in the garden to rid it of cut worms and other pests. By the time I get to 100 years, maybe, I may learn more about molasses. I have always loved baking with it. And, when I find a recipe that calls for brown sugar, I have learned to use our white sugar and just add some molasses. I do have to try the food processor on our course white sugar and, maybe, our brown sugar. Then add molasses. It is a ways yet to Christmas and that is cooky making time here. Plenty of time to experiment.

[V31JoePalooka]

Yes, molasses is a byproduct of refining sugar. We have a brown sugar here in Belize, which is less refined, thus more molasses remained in it. When I want brown sugar like you have in the States, I take our refined white sugar and add molasses like this Instructable. And, now, I am enjoying a little other byproduct of cane sugar, rum, in my coffee. Refining sugar beet juice does not give you molasses. My late father-in-law used to grow sugar beets in Michigan.

[Aswa]

Actually, what I was referring to is sugar seet syrup, which is what you get before refining anything.
But indeed, molasses are also a byproduct of sugar beet refinery, but it's mostly used in fodder for farm animals I think.

[V31JoePalooka]

Ha, ha! Yes, here, I buy molasses meant for cattle feed/supplement at $2.50US a gallon. I actually have to thin it a bit to use it for baking. Until I found it like that, I had to bring a bottle down from the States which did not make senses. The "Thick as molasses" fits it well, even down here in the warm tropics of Belize. My boys love their molasses cookies, sugared and a jab of strawberry jam in the middle like my grandma made. ☺ I liked the comment about putting white sugar in a processor to make it finer as our white sugar here is not at all fine like up in the US. It takes longer to blend/dissolve in a recipe like frosting and this might help. I did not remember molasses from the sugar beet
, Aswa. Hmm? Michigan or German rum? ☺

[Aswa]

Apparently in parts of the US they use sugar beet molasses to de-ice roads with, instead of salt!
I just read up on molasses a bit, and I guess molasses from beets just don't taste as good as cane molasses, so that's why they use it in animal feed instead.
But beet syrup is amazing, that's a thick dark brown syrup which looks a bit like molasses, but it still has all the sugar in it because it's only reduced/boiled and pressed suagr beets, essentially.
In Germany, we eat that stuff on buttered bread or pancakes, and sweeten baked good with it as well.
It's called Rübenkraut. :)

[Aswa]

But sugar beet molasses are the best thing ever!
I grew up on that stuff in Germany.

[romanfernandez]

sugar cane juice is called Guarapo in Cuba, and is awesome with a little ice.

[jwadep]

As a footnote here in South Africa you would be crazy to turn white sugar into brown sugar as brown sugar is cheaper than white

[jwadep]

Having worked in sugar milling for 8 years in Africa (many years ago) I can tell you that raw sugar is crystallized and centrifuged out from the sugar cane syrup as a brown sugar, this first crystilization or A sugar is packaged as brown sugar or goes through a refining stage which removes the colour and gives you white sugar. Sugar purity brown and white is usually kept above 96% an often close to 99% as it stores better. Molasses (a by product of the refining process) is added to white refined sugar to make specialty and/or soft brown sugars, these sugars will tend to have a higher moisture content due to the hygroscopic nature of the molasses. In the end sugar is sugar and if you are baking add molasses with white sugar to the mix if you want the taste - see the wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar

[kmuniz]

Please, this is not brown sugar ever. Below is a video showing the entire process to make brown sugar http://youtu.be/vl2GX-06Kes

[jennifersculpts]

Do you know how much molasses to add to make dark brown sugar?

[Ginhenna Janczylik]

Suitable proportions are about one tablespoon of molasses to each cup of sugar (one-sixteenth of the total volume). Molasses comprises 10% of brown sugar's total weight,[2]which is about one ninth of the white sugar weight. Due to varying qualities and colors of molasses products,[2] for lighter or darker sugar, reduce or increase its proportion according to taste.

[jennifersculpts]

Thank you!

[Ginhenna Janczylik]

Well nothing is wrong adding molasses to white sugar, because molasses and brown sugar are made for the same product sugar cane, there is just different mode of processing, I usually like natural brown sugar because is a dry sugar, brown sugar made with molasses made it mushy, of course natural brown sugar is expensive, in the 70's brown sugar was cheaper and white sugar was expensive at least in Mexico, because natural brown sugar doesn't need too much processing to make it....Now is expensive because I think because is more natural and like everything natural in this days is like a treasure, also has more minerals than white sugar and is healthier with less calories.

[o0OSusieO0o]

i make my own brown sugar using a granular sugar free sweetener and Unsulphured Molasses. The only sugar in it is in the molasses. This helps my daughter who needs to be on a ketogenic diet.

[jcampana1]

Anyone that's made it, how's it taste?

[thebeatonpath]

No flipping way! I LOVE IT!

[Skalblaka]

Wahahaha. The power in this! Never more will I buy brown sugar!