How to Make (Light & Dark) Brown Sugar #Kitchen MacGyver

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

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Being an foreigner in a country (expat, immigrant, etc) you go an emotional roller coaster cycle what they technically like to call "Culture Shock". There is an initial euphoria of the discovering all the exciting things in your new country; But this euphoria does wears off and you start to enter into the dangerous stage of irritation and hostility where you find yourself discontent, impatient, sad and even anger at the incompetence of your new country. You often come to start missing things from your homeland or even countries you've lived in before. From feta cheese, , pumpkin pie, coffee creamer, fat top muffins, sourdough bread to halal grass-feed angus aged beef. Even things like the convienence of buying everything in one shop and even  those corporate mass chain bookstores where you used to literally hang out in a day reading books and sipping on overpriced fancy-pants coffee. Those things you could literally live without become your central focus. Where to buy it, how to make it, how to grow it, who to ask to bring it in or send it you or even how to Macgyver it. ((Yes! That's a verb!)) All you foreigners out there know what I mean! Sometimes obsessing over things you don't have rather then being grateful for what you do. It's a sad but true point about being expatriate. But no worries, you CAN recreate some of "back-home" foods and ingredients with some creativity. And you know making things homemade is triumph and a blessing in itself!

I'm excited to share a new series I’m launching on the blog which I'm calling "Kitchen MacGyver". I’ll be sharing simple and practical tips on how to make your life in the kitchen easier. You know, thinking like MacGyver leads to creative ways to solve everyday issues in the kitchen.

My first Kitchen MacGyver tip is going to be about brown sugar ( السكر البني, Soukr Bouni, Sucre Brun, Cassonade). Have ever made a cookie or brownie recipe only to find you've run out of brown sugar? Or live in a country (like I do- Algeria) where brown sugar is a rare find? No sweat! Making brown sugar is so fantabulously easy it’s almost effortless. It'll be ready for your favorite cookie recipe in 5 minutes or less! 

Why brown sugar?

Brown sugar as explained in Alton Brown's show Good Eats yields for a moister, denser and chewier baked product which you generally want with cookies, cakes and brownies.  Light brown sugar is what is used more often in baking, sauces and, glazes. Dark brown sugar, because of the rich molassesness or caramelly flavor, is used in richer foods, like gingerbread. They can be used interchangeably depending on your personal preference. Demerara sugar similar to brown sugar has less molasses than light brown sugar and is considered a natural sugar. Making brown sugar homemade you'll end up with a fresher and fluffier brown sugar - much better then any store-bought brand. And bonus you can control how light or dark you get your brown sugar. And tasting a bit along the way doesn't hurt either.

Ever wonder what's the difference between all the sugars? Check out this!

So let our inner MacGyver kick in and let's get resourceful and ... 

 Let's make some brown sugar!

 About molasses

Molasses, you see, is a sweet syrup that comes from the sugar cane, and is a byproduct of the sugar making process. The juice extracted from the sugar cane is boiled until some of the sugars crystallize out, and the juice will often be boiled up to 3 times to extract as much sugar as possible. What’s left is a thick, sweet syrup called, you guessed it, molasses.

There are many typs of molasses:  light, dark, treale, blackstrap, Sulphured, unsulphured, Sorghum, Date, Pomegranate, Carob, Grape, and even Mulberries Molasses. You have a wide array of choices when it comes to molasses,  but to note date molasses and blackstrap molasses are the only ones on the list that actually have a nutritional added value. Date, grape, pomegranate, carob and sorghum molasses are widely available in Algeria but I would advise not using molasses made from grapes, pomegrantes or mulberries. Your brown sugar  will be bitter, un-brown sugary in taste and also the color will be reddish or purplish.

For this easy and quick recipe, you can simply use your hands or a fork to mix everything together, but mixing everything in a food processor with the dough blade or with a hand blender will make everything quicker and less messy. Just be sure not to use a blender or you'll have brown icing sugar. I tried out the two basic method: by hand or in the machine. I started mixing mine with a spoon, but ended up annoyed then used my hands. In the machine, I found it to be much easier and the final brown sugar was much fluffier then the hand mixed one.

And if you want to make dark brown sugar, simply use 2 tablespoon of molasses for each cup of sugar. And mix. I tasted the brown sugar with 1 tablespoon, 1 ½ and 2 tablespoons of molasses and I could really tell the difference in taste. More molasses I added, it seemed to develop this pleasant caramelly  taste.

{ homemade light & dark

brown sugar }

fluffiest and freshest brown sugar you'll ever try, ready to use in your favorite cookie, cake or brownie recipe. or even top on your morning oatmeal.

SERVING

YIELD: 1 cup 

ACTIVE PREP TIME: 2-5 mins

INACTIVE PREP TIME: 0 mins

COOK TIME: 0mins 

EQUIPMENT

MIXING BOWL & SPOON OR FOOD PROCESSOR or hand mixer, storage jar, rubber spatula, measuring spoon

۞ = SUBSTITUTIONS

. 

INGREDIENTS

FOR LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

• 1 cup - 220 grams granulated cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap, carob or date molasses (I use date molasses)

FOR DARK BROWN SUGAR:

• 1 cup - 220 gramsgranulated cane sugar
• 2 tablespoon blackstrap, carob or date molasses (I use date molasses)

METHOD

USING A MIXING BOWL

PLACE the sugar in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your food processor. Add in one tablespoon of molasses. Using a fork, spoon or even your hands mix the sugar with the molasses until combined. You should not see any clumps of molasses.

USING A FOOD PROCESSOR

ATTACH the dough blade then add in the sugar and molasses into the bowl. Whizz at low speed few times until combined. Scraping down a few times making sure the sugar is uniform in color. You should not see any clumps of molasses.

USING A STAND OR HAND MIXER

ATTACH the whisk to the machine and then add the sugar and molasses to the bowl. Turn on the machine to low and whisk the two together until just combined. You shouldn't see any clumps of molasses.

storage

Store your brown sugar in an air-tight container or ziplock plastic bag in a dry and cool place like your cabinet. You may double or triple the recipe so you have it on hand. If you find the brown sugar has hardened in the container, it can easily be fluffed up with a fok.

Brown sugar is used in many cookie, cake and brownie recipes. And is also delicious in coffee, frosting, oatmeal and many other things.

kitchen tips

Date Molasses
If you're living in Algeria like me, you may be wondering where to find date molasses. You may find it under its French name "mélasse de dattes" or "miel de dattes" or "confiture de dattes" or in Derdja "maadjoun tamr". They sell it in the herbal shops or in the souq where they sell dates. Or optionally, look in the larger superettes like Kheyr in Cheraga or UNO in Alger.

SAHA F'TOURKOUM! 

 CATEGORIES: homemade diy, kitchen macgyver, frugal

SOURCE: Paula Figoni 

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 I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts as well. If you have any tips or tricks feel free to share them in the commen below, on my Google+ or Facebook or also pin them on Pinterest.

DO DO YOU HAVE ANY KITCHEN MACGYVER MOVES?

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