Brown sugar was for cookies. The white granulated stuff went on Cheerios, where it piled like a snow drift, and confectioners’ sugar was for the French toast my dad cut in strips on weekends.

This was the long and short of sugar for me. But not anymore. Because sugar is the foodstuff that, more than any other, reflects resilience, ingenuity, and creativity in humankind. The body demands it. We go to incredible (and horrific) lengths to obtain it. And it comes in more forms than you’d ever think possible.

The sweet highs and bitter lows of the ingredient that rules the world

The Sugar Files

Sugarcane, the crop responsible for 80% of the world’s sugar, is a perennial grass that grows in tropical and subtropical regions. In colder climes, sugar is derived from sugar beets, taproots with high concentrations of sucrose. And corn, the building block of perhaps the most maligned syrup the world has ever seen. But it can also be produced by tapping trees, from northern maples to equatorial palms.

It’s all just sucrose, but digging into the world of sugar reveals a doctoral program’s worth of biochemistry, human physiology, and global anthropology. Beyond the crops from which we refine it, how we refine that sugar and what we wind up doing with it speaks volumes about who we and our cultures are. If you want to understand the inventiveness and resilience of a cuisine, look to its sweeteners. Here is a beginner’s guide to help you do so.

Raw Granulated Sugars

All sugar is cooked and processed to some degree—the sweet sap or juice has to be reduced down into a concentrate or crystalline sludge. White sugar then goes a few extra steps, mainly a spin through a centrifuge to extract the brown molasses, leaving you with more or less white sugar that’s then further processed until pristine.

But raw granulated sugars are not refined after the reduction stage. These non-centrifugal cane sugars (NCS), also known as evaporated cane juice, are made by evaporating water out of sugarcane juice, and leave the natural molasses intact, which includes the nutrients, minerals, and deeper flavors of the original cane. Call it field to packet.

Muscovado

Big-brand brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added back in. For muscovado, they never take it out in the first place. Muscovado is darker than dark brown sugar with a moist, sandy texture. It’s also known as Barbados sugar, where it was once made in abundance and traded internationally to refineries in Europe. But today, Mauritius and the Philippines are the biggest producers of muscovado. Because of its deep color, bold flavor, and solubility, it works well as a sweetener in barbecue sauce and pairs nicely with gingerbread and spice cookies.

Demerara Sugar

Demerara sugar is named after a historic region in Guyana, where the sugar was first produced in large quantities. To make it, producers reduce fresh sugarcane juice into a thick syrup and eventually a thick sludge, yielding a coarse, crystalline, golden brown sugar. Demerara is often used for its crunch on top of baked goods, but is also used to sweeten coffee and tea due to its nuanced molasses notes, usually less intense than muscovado

Brick Sugars

Similar to brown sugar in taste and color (but with less twang), this is the stuff in those ubiquitous brown packets. It’s made from the first pressing of sugarcane and retains some natural molasses, giving it a subtle brown hue, but it has a lighter, more caramel-like flavor than muscovado or demerara and coarser texture, perfect for sprinkling atop baked goods for a sweet crunch.

Panela

Panela is unrefined whole cane sugar, boiled cane juice poured into molds shaped like little pylons, hence its other name: piloncillo. Like brown sugar, this Central and South American sweetener often comes in lighter (blanco) and darker (oscuro) versions. And the concept of raw brick cane sugar goes by many names around the world. It’s called rapadura in Brazil, dulce in Costa Rica, uluru dust in Australia, and kukuto in Japan.

Over in South America, Peruvians add it to a sweet sauce called chancaca that’s drizzled over picarones (Peruvian donuts). In Chile it’s used to make a sweet pastry called sopaipilla, and in Costa Rica, piloncillo is shaved and added to hot water for a sweet drink called agua dulce. (Folks in Yunnan Province, China do something similar with their brick sugar as a quasi-medicinal drink to raise blood sugar).

Jaggery

Essentially the panela of India, jaggery is mostly made from cane, but some varieties are the reduced sap of date, coconut, and sago palms. No matter the source, the crop is harvested and pressed for its juice, which is then placed in large vats to allow sediment to collect on the bottom. It is then strained from the sediment, placed in large-diameter, shallow pans, and boiled to form a thick, doughy mass. This paste, which retains all of its natural molasses and the nutrients therein, is then placed in molds and allowed to cool and dry. In India, jaggery (which is also called gur) extends into medicinal and religious practices, and jaggery-based sweets are often presented to the gods as offerings

Palm Sugar

In Southeast Asia, sugar-producing palm trees grew long before cane, and palm sugars rule the sweet teeth of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and beyond. The final product’s color and flavor varies depending on the tree and climate in which it’s harvested. The names also vary; Malaysian coconut sugar is gula Melaka; over in Indonesia, palm sugar is called gula jawa.

To make palm sugar, sap is first collected from the inflorescence (flower stalks) of the palm. From there it is boiled down into a syrup and can be sold as-is or whipped and poured into different molds of varying shapes and sizes, including bamboo and coconut shells, where it is allowed to cool and harden.

The sugar ranges from light and golden to black and smoky, and are used in all kinds of desserts, particularly those with coconut, pandan, and sticky rice. Palm sugar is also far less sweet than table sugar, which makes it a handy ingredient for savory dishes from the region.

Molasses and Liquid Sugars

Molasses

Molasses is a by-product of the sugar refining process and can be made from sugarcane and sugar beets. To produce it, cane or beets are crushed, the juice is boiled down, and sugar crystals are removed. The remaining unctuous tar is molasses.

Variations of molasses include light, dark, and blackstrap produced from the first, second, and third boiling (respectively) of cane. Light molasses, the most commonly sold, is the sweetest and mildest in flavor. Dark molasses is a concentrated version of light, in that it’s slightly darker, more bitter, and less sweet. Blackstrap molasses, made from the third and final boiling of molasses, is the thickest and darkest of the three. It’s also the least sweet, which makes it best for savory dishes like baked beans and barbecue sauce. Sulfured and un-sulfured are further molasses distinctions, referring to the addition (or not) of sulfur dioxide, which is added as a preservative.

Treacle

Effectively the British version of molasses. Black treacle is comparable to blackstrap, while golden treacle is a thick, caramelly sugar syrup. Both make their way into a bevy of British tarts and gingerbreads.

Cane Syrup

Purple ribbon sugarcane

Similar to molasses but more primal, cane syrup is made by boiling cane juice down but not extracting sugar crystals. It’s sweeter and less intense than molasses, with a deep golden verve like British golden treacle. A must on pancakes in parts of the American South.

Sorghum

Sorghum grass thrives in hot climates, and most of the high-sugar sorghum plants in the grass family Poaceae are native to Australia and West Africa. But it’s also popular in the American South, where its grassy, tangy flavor is put to work drizzled over biscuits or stirred into grits.

Fruit Molasses

Pomegranate Molasses

Fruit molasses is produced in a similar fashion to maple syrup, and the most common fruits used to make fruit molasses are pomegranate, date, and grape. These fruits are juiced and the juice is boiled down to create a concentrate. Sugar is sometimes added to bolster the yield and make a sweet product, and these syrups can be drizzled over ice cream, used in salad dressings, and mixed into cocktails. Fruit molasses originates in regions where access to sugar was prohibitive due to price or climate, and it is prized as a far healthier sugar alternative high in antioxidants and minerals

Nectar

Agave nectar is the most commercially sold plant nectar, but other nectar plants include Black-Eyed Susan, Marigold, Petunia, Sunflower, and Violet. Plant nectars like agave are made mechanically, whereby the leaves are manually cut off and the juice is harvested. It is then filtered and heated so it concentrates into a dense liquid. The nectars retain less of their origin plants’ flavors than cane syrup or honey varietals, and come in a range of intensities depending on the amount of refinement.

Honey

oney is the purest form of sugar found in nature, and the most natural form of sugar on this list. It starts as flower nectar, which is collected by certain social hymenopterans, or winged insects. Once those bees and other insects collect the nectar, their bodies break it down into simple sugars, then deposit that syrup in honeycomb.

The comb’s unique structure, coupled with the constant fanning of the insects’ wings, evaporates off moisture until the honey’s water content is a mere 20%. There are over 300 distinct types of honey, with varying hues, consistencies, and flavors based on the type of flowers from which the nectar is harvested. Since honey contains a high proportion of fructose, it’s sweeter than table sugar, pound for pound.

Maple Syrup

The sap from maple trees—namely sugar, red, and black maples—produces both maple syrup and maple sugar. The former is made through a process of boiling maple tree sap to evaporate liquids and leave behind a dense concentration of sugary sap; the latter is reduced further into a moist, crystalline substance like muscovado.

Birch Sugar

Trees are tapped in late winter and early spring, after starches have converted to sugars that then run throughout the tree via sap. Though maple trees are the most commonly tapped trees for syrup, they’re far from the only ones that produced sap. Black birch is commonly used for birch syrup (and birch beer), and walnut trees yield a syrup with a delicately nutty flavor.

Rice Syrup

Sugars live in starch as well, but starches are not soluble in water and, in order to be digested, must be catalyzed by enzymes called amylases. Humans have amylases in our saliva, which explains why chewing foods high in starch often take on a sweet taste before the food is swallowed—the enzymes convert starch to sugar as we chew.

The process can also be done mechanically, to produce sweeteners, or syrups, from starch. In the case of rice or barley, the starches are converted to sugar with amylase. This process yields a sweet liquid that is then strained off and heated to allow evaporation to a preferred consistency and sweetness. Rice syrup is often used as a sweetener in rice milk and other beverages.

Refined Sugars

Sugar Cubes

The ubiquitous sweetener most people think of when they think of sugar, made from sugarcane or sugar beets that goes through a double-crystallization process to remove all the molasses and minerals. It’s also the end result of centuries of sugar obsessions and, as some put it, the instigator of the greatest health crises the Western world has ever seen.

Under the white sugar umbrella you’ll find caster (or superfine) sugar, which is granulated sugar that is milled more and further refined to produce a finer crystal. This sugar melts quicker, though it lacks the ability to incorporate air into baked goods as the bigger, coarser crystals of white sugar do. Confectioners’ sugar uses the same superfine base, but is cut with cornstarch to prevent clumping.

Pearl and Sanding Sugar

Cake Sugar

Decorating sugars are used at the end of the baking or cooking process to add sweetness and color.

Pearl sugar, a.k.a. nib sugar and hail sugar, consists of large opaque flakes and is available in an array of colors. Sanding sugar is similar to pearl sugar, though it is translucent and has a brighter, more pronounced shimmer. Decorating sugars have a high melting point, so they keep their form even after baking. Find them sprinkled over Scandinavian pastries, German Christmas cookies, Belgian Liege waffles, and French chouquettes.

Caramel

Salted Caramel Sauce

Caramel is a category all its own, the result of sugar molecules decomposing under extreme heat into hundreds of aromatic compounds. The higher you heat a caramel, the bolder, more savory, and less sweet the result will taste.

Rock Sugar

Rock Sugar Matt Taylor-Gross

There’s a bit of science behind every kid’s favorite tooth-cracking candy. Rock sugar, or rock candy, is formed with a solution of sugar and water through a process called nucleation, whereby the sweet sugary solution forms large sugar crystals as it cools and adheres to a suitable surface. You’re supposed to treat rock candy like a lollipop, and let it dissolve. But kids and patience rarely go together. Rock candy originated in India and Persia and is used to sweeten tea, as is tradition in Iran, where the sweet drink is called nabat. The candy is also used in the Netherlands, where it’s baked into bread, and in China it’s used to sweeten grain-fermented baijiu and in the slow-braise technique known as red cooking

The 9 Best Sugar Substitutes for People With Type 2 Diabetes

When it comes to blood sugar and weight management, not all sugar substitutes are created equal. Find out which option is the best fit for your health goals

Taming a sweet tooth can be a challenge for anyone, but for people with type 2 diabetes, it’s necessary to keep how much you consume in carbohydrates, including sugar, under control.

Sugar substitutes offer sweetness while making it easier to control carbohydrate intake and blood glucose (sugar). There are many sugar substitutes to choose from, but they’re not all calorie-free, and they vary in terms of their impact on blood sugar.

When you’re deciding which sugar substitutes to use, consider that they come in two varieties, noted an article published in the journal Diabetes Spectrum:

• Nutritive These provide calories and can affect your blood sugar.
• Nonnutritive These provide little to no calories and, per a review published in May 2018 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, will not raise your blood sugar. They can be several hundred to several thousand times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), according to the aforementioned article in Diabetes Spectrum.

But even if you choose a calorie-free sweetener, enjoy the sweet stuff in moderation. According to a study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior, artificial sweeteners can alter your brain’s response to sweetness and affect your ability to feel satisfied when you eat sweet-tasting food or drink, putting you at risk for consuming too much of it. In fact, the American Diabetes Association recommends that in the case of beverages, it’s best not to rely on zero- or low-calorie options as a replacement for ones that contain sugar beyond the short term; but instead, to consume as little of any type of sweetener as you can, and simply drink more water.

1. Sucralose (Splenda), the Most Popular Sugar Substitute

Mario Tama

This sweetener is excellent for people with type 2 diabetes. That’s because Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar, yet those little yellow packets have no effect on blood sugar, says Keri Glassman, RD, CDN, of Nutritious Life, a nutrition practice based in New York City.
In addition, Splenda passes through the body with minimal absorption. These attributes have helped it become the most commonly used artificial sweetener worldwide, according to an article published in October 2016 in Physiology & Behavior.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has approved sucralose, recommends an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 milligrams (mg) or less of sucralose per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day. A 132-pound (lb) individual would need to consume 23 tabletop packets of the artificial sweetener per day to reach that limit.

2. Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low), the Oldest Artificial Sweetene

Saccharin, the sweetener sold in pink packets under the brand name Sweet ‘N Low, is calorie-free and is about 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar, per the Sweet ‘N Low website. It was the first artificial sweetener, with chemists discovering it as a derivative of coal tar by mistake in 1879, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

If you’ve been using artificial sweeteners since the 1970s, you may remember a previous warning label that warned of saccharin increasing the risk for cancer. But rest assured it’s safe. The research that prompted the label was done on animals, and further studies by the National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health concluded that saccharin shouldn’t be on the list of potential carcinogens. Saccharin is currently FDA-approved. 

A 132-lb individual would need to consume 45 tabletop packets of the artificial sweetener per day to reach the ADI of 15 mg of saccharin per kg of body weight per day, according to the FDA.

3. Aspartame, a Low-Calorie Sweetener yet Not Okay for People With PKU

Aspartame, sold in blue packets under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet, is a nonnutritive artificial sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar, according to the FDA. While not zero-calorie like some other artificial sweeteners, aspartame is still very low in calories.

While the FDA has reviewed the scientific research and found aspartame safe to eat, Glassman notes there have also been some conflicting study results on this sweetener’s safety. “Although its low-calorie reputation is appealing for most weight-conscious individuals, it has been linked to many negative side effects,” Glassman says. Some animal research, including a study published in December 2014 in the journal Cytotechnology, has shown linkage to leukemia, lymphoma, and breast cancer. “Other research shows a [possible] linkage to migraines.”

Yet the American Cancer Society notes that U.S. and European regulatory agencies have, respectively, concluded that aspartame is “safe” and that research doesn’t indicate an increased risk of cancer in humans.

Nevertheless, people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare condition in which they are unable to metabolize phenylalanine (a key component of aspartame), should not consume this sugar substitute, notes the NHS. If you don’t have PKU, aspartame is safe to consume.

A 132-lb individual would need to consume a whopping 75 tabletop packets of the artificial sweetener per day to reach the ADI of 50 mg of aspartame per kg of body weight per day, notes the FDA.

4. Stevia (Truvia or Pure Via), a Natural Sweetener Option

Steviol glycosides are sweeteners derived from the leaf of the stevia plant, which is native to Central and South America. Truvia and Pure Via, both brands of stevia-based sweetener, are calorie-free, and stevia is often used as a sweetener in foods and beverages. According to the 2019 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, published in January 2019 in Diabetes Care, nonnutritive sweeteners, including stevia, have little to no impact on blood sugar. The FDA has approved the use of certain stevia extracts, which it has generally recognized as safe (a term that is applied to food additives that qualified experts deem as safe, and therefore not subject to the usual premarket review and approval process).

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center notes that people have reported side effects, like gastrointestinal symptoms, after eating high amounts of stevia. But to date, there is no solid scientific research to prove these claims. 

The FDA recommends an ADI of 4 mg or less of Truvia per kilogram of body weight per day. A 132-lb individual would need to consume nine tabletop packets of the artificial sweetener per day to reach that limit.

5. Sugar Alcohols, a Low-Calorie Option for Sweetening Your Fare

Sugar alcohols, or polyols, are derived from the natural fibers in fruits and vegetables, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center. Per the International Food Information Council Foundation, commonly used sugar alcohol sweeteners in many so-called “sugar-free” desserts, candies and gums include:

• Xylitol
• Sorbitol
• Mannitol
• Isomalt
• Erythritol
• Lactitol
• Maltitol

Though sugar alcohols are relatively low in calories and more blood sugar–friendly than carbohydrates, they may have a laxative effect and cause indigestion, bloating, and diarrhea in some people, the FDA points out. Products containing sorbitol and mannitol must bear a label warning that excess consumption can cause a laxative effect, per the FDA.

The gastrointestinal symptoms arise because sugar alcohols are not completely absorbed in the digestive tract, says Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDE, a medical reviewer for Everyday Health who’s based in Prescott, Arizona. She explains that unabsorbed carbohydrates from these sweeteners pass into the large intestine, where they are fermented by gut bacteria to produce gas. See how you respond to a small amount before incorporating them into your daily diet.

Also, keep in mind that sugar alcohols do contain some carbohydrates and are nutritive sweeteners, so they can affect blood sugar levels. “It’s important for people with diabetes to read the nutrition facts label for total carbohydrate content and plan accordingly,” says Grieger. “Remember that the information in a nutrition facts label is based on one serving, and it’s easy to eat more than one serving of foods that contain sugar alcohols, which can increase the total carbohydrate consumed.” If you count carbs to manage diabetes, a common rule of thumb is to subtract half the amount of the sugar alcohol carbs listed on the nutrition label from the total carbs listed, according to the University of California in San Francisco

6. Erythritol, a Sugar Alcohol With Fewer Side Effects Than Other Options

Erythritol is also a sugar alcohol sweetener, but unlike the others just mentioned, it has less than 1 calorie per gram, notes the International Food Information Council Foundation, and doesn’t have a big effect on blood sugar levels, per the American Diabetes Association. It’s an ingredient in the stevia-derived sweetener Truvia and is marketed under the brand-name Swerve. Swerve measures cup-for-cup like sugar, and you can use it like table sugar, or in cooking and baking recipes that call for sugar. 

If other sugar alcohol sweeteners give you tummy trouble, this may be a better option for you. It is less likely to produce the gas, bloating, and diarrhea that happen from fermentation by gut bacteria because only about 10 percent of the erythritol you consume enters the colon, per past research. The rest leaves the body through your urine.

There’s no ADI for erythritol, but the FDA hasn’t questioned notices submitted by erythritol makers that the sweetener is “generally recognized as safe.”

7. Monk Fruit Sweetener, Another Natural Option for Sweetening Your Foods

Also known by the names Luo Han Guo fruit extract and Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle fruit extract, this nonnutritive sweetener comes from a plant native to southern China. The extract contains 0 calories per serving, per the International Food Information Council Foundation, and per the FDA, is 150 to 200 times sweeter than sugar. Popular brands include Monk Fruit in the Raw and Lakanto. The FDA has not questioned notices submitted by monk fruit sweetener makers that the extract is “generally recognized as safe.” The agency doesn’t specify an ADI for monk fruit sweetener.

8. Acesulfame Potassium, a Popular Sugar Substitute in Diet Soda

Also known as Ace-K, this nonnutritive sweetener is FDA-approved and about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Often manufacturers combine it with other sweeteners, though it is also sold for tabletop use under the brand name Sweet One. You will also find it in some of your favorite diet soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Diet Mountain Dew. The FDA recommends an ADI of 15 mg or less of Ace-K per kilogram of body weight per day.

A 132-pound individual would need to consume 23 tabletop packets of the artificial sweetener per day to reach that limit.

9. Allulose (Dolcia Prima), a New Artificial Sweetener That’s No Longer Considered an Added Sugar

Allulose (also known as D-allulose or D-psicose, per the U.S. National Library of Medicine) is an extremely low-calorie sweetener that occurs naturally in small amounts in wheat, raisins, dried figs, brown sugar, and molasses, according to the FDA. Marketed under the brand name Dolcia Prima (which Tate & Lyle, Splenda’s manufacturer, makes), it has 90 percent fewer calories than sucrose, while being 70 percent as sweet.

You can find Dolcia Prima in Magic Spoon Cereal, which is sold online; and expect to see it soon in beverages, desserts, candy, yogurt, and other treats. That’s because allulose got a big boost from the FDA in April 2019, when the agency declared it can be excluded from the total and added sugars listed on nutrition labels going forward.

“The latest data suggests that allulose is different from other sugars in that it is not metabolized by the human body in the same way as table sugar,” says Susan Mayne, PhD, director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “It has fewer calories, produces only negligible increases in blood glucose or insulin levels, and does not promote dental decay.”

Under the revised guidance, manufacturers can use a caloric value of 0.4 calories per gram to calculate the total number of calories per serving of allulose, instead of the previous 4 calories per gram. The sweetener still must be included in the total carbohydrates listed, though. While allulose isn’t on the list of FDA-approved sweeteners, the agency hasn’t questioned notices submitted by manufacturers that the sweetener is “generally recognized as safe.” 

But the European Union has yet to approve allulose, according to an article published in April 2019 in Food Manufacture, nor has Canada added it to their list of permitted sweeteners. Furthermore, research into its effectiveness for controlling blood sugar is limited to small studies, such as a small randomized, double-blinded trial published in June 2018 in the journal Nutrients, which was funded by Tate & Lyle. The authors observed that small doses of allulose (5 or 10 g) did not have a significant effect on blood glucose levels when taken with a standard glucose tolerance test, but they recommended larger sample sizes for future studies.

One Last Thing About Using Sugar Substitutes When Managing Type 2 Diabetes

As you can see, there are many artificial sweeteners to help you reach your blood sugar goals. Just remember that maintaining them will be easier if you practice moderation and don’t allow sweet-tasting food and beverages to lead you to overconsume them. “A major goal should be to reduce all types of sweeteners in your diet, including sugar substitutes, so that you become accustomed to the naturally sweet taste of food,” says Grieger. Then trust your body to tell you when enough is enough.