Food - Drink
Brown Sugar Vs. Turbinado Sugar: What's The Difference?
By ARIANNA ENDICOTT
Even though refined white sugar is the most popular sugar on the market in America, there are many different varieties produced and used around the world, including brown sugar and turbinado sugar. These two sugars have a similar brown color and a deeper flavor than white sugar, but they do differ in a number of ways.
Brown sugar contains molasses, which is responsible for the sugar’s brown color, rich flavor, and higher moisture content. Brown sugar is typically used in baking and has just about the same number of calories as white sugar, and there are light and dark brown sugar varieties that contain different amounts of molasses.
Meanwhile, turbinado sugar is a coarser sugar that is minimally refined, and often used in coffee, tea, and baking. It contains only trace amounts of molasses, giving it a subtle caramel flavor, and is nutritionally comparable to white sugar, though turbinado sugar can cost up to three times as much as its more refined counterpart.
The Spruce Eats notes that brown and turbinado sugar are usually interchangeable, thanks to their similar caramel flavors. The two can be swapped at a one-to-one ratio, but turbinado sugar's large crystals can take more time to melt compared to brown sugar, and turbinado's lighter color will make your final dish appear lighter, as well.