Read in Catalan

White or brown sugar? You may have asked yourself that question at some point, unaware that the difference between the two sugars in front of you was minimal.

To clarify doubts, you should bear in mind that most of the sugar that is sold in supermarkets as “brown sugar” is actually dyed white sugar.

How do they dye this sugar? Using molasses, a “thick, dark, sweet liquid which is a residue of the crystallisation of cane sugar or beet sugar”, according to the definition of the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC).

Thus, dyed white sugar has nothing to do with real, whole, unprocessed cane sugar, which is brown by nature. The process of refining all sugars is what makes the difference. While white sugar is yielded from a chemical process in which the impurities are eliminated – including some minerals – brown (or whole) sugar comes from the juice of the sugarcane and is not refined afterward so it keeps its properties.

One way of knowing if you have real brown sugar is to see if the package says “unprocessed” sugar. If not, you probably have dyed white sugar.

THE TEST

You can check to see if you have real brown sugar at home. All you have to do is put a spoonful of sugar in a glass of water and see whether or not the supposed brown sugar turns white.

In our case, we wanted to test it with three different brands. The sugar to the left in the video is ACOR brand, which is sold in Mercadona. In the middle of the screen is AZUCARERA, a brand sold in supermarkets like Carrefour and Dia. And on the right is ANSAS, which was purchased in a shop selling ecological products.

Dyed white sugar. Image: Roberto Lázaro

In a matter of seconds, you can see that the sugar from the first wo brands enters the glass dark but comes out white (the dye has faded). In contrast, the sugar in the third glass, which is sold in specialised shops, is truly brown.

Real brown sugar. Image: Roberto Lázaro​

The difference between the kinds of sugar is also clear in the price. In March 2017, the 1-kg package of ACOR sugar cost 1.87 euros, the same amount from the brand AZUCARERA cost 2 euros, but 500 grams (half a kilo) from ANSAS costs 4.50 euros.