Castor Sugar or Granulated Sugar?.
I have seen a few articles that say Castor Sugar is different to Granulated Sugar (Normal White Sugar), but also some that say they are the same thing.
One article says you can use caster sugar OR granulated sugar in a 1:1 basis. Another says that two spoonfuls of granulated sugar is probably about one and a bit of caster sugar.
I have a lot of Castor Sugar in the cupboard, but I am running out of normal white granulated sugar, so I began to consider using the excess castor sugar in my coffee, but how much should I use?
From the information shown below, [The Differences Between White Sugars], it seems that Castor and Granulated sugar ARE the same, in theory..
But, two teaspoons of granulated sugar may not be the same as two teaspoons of castor sugar, as the volume of the finer castor sugar will be different to granulated sugar.
So, maybe I should be careful when adding castor sugar to Tea or Coffee, to get the correct sweetness.
To get an exact answer, I checked the weight per volume of both sugars, and came to the conclusion that 2 teaspoons of one sugar would be equal to 2.5 teaspoons of another sugar.
I did the test on a larger quantity, where a container full of castor sugar contained 184 grams of sugar. The same container, when filled with the larger grain granulated sugar, held 230 grams of sugar.
That becomes equivalent to 80 grams of castor sugar taking the same space as 100 grams of granulated sugar. This then comes down to 2 of one to 2.5 of the other.
But…
How accurately do we measure sugar for coffee anyway?
So, another test.
I checked the weight of 4 teaspoons of each sugar, and did the test six times. The weight varied between 17 and 19 grams each time, regardless of the type of sugar. It seemed to vary depending on how well I measured a teaspoon full.
Conclusion: I will use the castor sugar, at the same two teaspoons per cup of Tea or Coffee, (I drink both) and see if I notice any difference.
Yes, that would have been the easy way from the beginning, but curiosity got the better of me.
What size teaspoon do we use?
1 Imperial Teaspoon of Granulated sugar weighs 5.03 grams
1 Metric Teaspoon of Granulated sugar weighs 4.25 grams
1 US Teaspoon of Granulated sugar weighs 4.18 grams
Hmmm, so a 1 kg bag of sugar is 239 teaspoons in America, but only 199 teaspoons in England, unless they feel European in which case they get 235 teaspoons, almost the same as in America. My teaspoon is made in China !!!
Heaped or not Heaped Teaspoon?
I use not heaped but not level either.
The Differences Between White Sugars
From what I have read, white sugars are actually refined brown sugars, and are produced as Granulated sugar, Caster sugar and Icing sugar.
Granulated sugar is a good all-purpose sugar. Often used to sweeten Tea or Coffee etc., and for general cooking and baking.
Caster sugar has been ground finer than granulated sugar and will dissolve easier. This can be much better for baking cakes etc. Being finer, it has less chance of any granules being felt in the mouth.
Icing sugar has been ground even further, to the finest powder, and will almost instantly dissolve on contact with liquid. It also has an anti-caking agent added to it, such as Tapioca Starch, Calcium Phosphate or cornflour. Mine is 96% Cane Sugar with Tapioca Starch added.
Some countries call Icing Sugar as “Powdered Sugar” or “Confectioners’ Sugar“.
I also measured some Icing Sugar, and 4 teaspoons came out at 16 grams…
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