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| Baking gluten-free without sugar: substitutions and tips. |
An increasing number of comments and questions have revolved around sugar as a sweetener and how to substitute it in gluten-free baking. I thought the subject sweet enough to deserve its own post.
As we know it in its common, refined form here in the United States, (the average American eats 143 pounds of sugar per year) sugar is usually derived from the cereal grain known as sugar cane or the cultivated plant beta vulgaris also known as the sugar beet. Both options are high on the glycemic index
and refined to remove any nutrients or minerals that might have been residing in the cane or beet's natural state. In the cane refining process the syrup remaining after the refining process is called molasses (it contains iron and other minerals that are refined out of white sugar). Note: sugar cane is in the grass and cereal botanical family; people who are allergic to grasses and cereals may also develop a sensitivity to cane sugar.Brown sugar is refined cane sugar with molasses added back in for taste and improved texture. Raw sugar- also known as turbinado sugar- is also cane sugar, but less refined; it supposedly has more nutrients intact (but I wouldn't go so far as to consider it a food group, Darling). Vegan sugar aka sucanat is cane sugar in a raw unrefined state; it has a stronger taste that is akin to molasses. Read on for alternatives to the usual suspects.
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