My Dad, the old sugar manufacturer. If you want a definition various sugars....

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
My Dad was a sugar manufacturer all of his adult life. In fact, although he enlisted to serve in WW2, the government determined that he was critical to the continuing production during the war and would not allow him to leave. Not long before his life ended, I finally asked him to distinguish for me, the various types of sugars as he knew that business inside and out.

I grew up in the land of beet sugars but cane sugars were brought in as well, to create the other varieties which beets cannot. Oddly enough, I am mildly allergic to cane sugar and 'import' the beet variety whenever I can find it.

Now I have found the little note I made and at last got it into my reference materials. Here it is if you are interested.

Sugars

∙ icing sugar - 11% cornstarch plus regular sugar pulverized

∙ berry - finer than fruit sugar by use of a finer screen

∙ confectioner’s - next finest to icing but has no cornstarch

∙ finest in order: Icing

Confectioner’s

Berry

Fruit

∙ Browns: Demerara - has the most molasses. Sourced from cane

Golden Brown - raw cane with some molasses removed

Brown - cane with a little molasses still in

Cube sugar has some clear syrup. It’s pressed into a cake and heated.

 
Marg that is so interesting! Maybe you can clear up a question I've always had...

Canadian recipes call for "fruit or berry sugar" and US recipes call for "superfine sugar". I have always assumed they are the same thing. I see now (and I never knew) that fruit sugar and berry sugar are not identical. Is one of those identical to superfine sugar, and if so, which one? If one is identical to superfine sugar, what is the US equivalent of the other one?

 
Hey I had a landlord in Santa Monica CA from Hawaii

Hey I had a landlord in Santa Monica CA from Hawaii who told me he also tried to escape the sugar plantation into the armed forces, but he wasn't allowed to. He had some facinating and sometimes sad stories about his work.

Muse

 
Thanks Marg, this is interesting...I bought a large bag of....

demerara sugar from the Asian store and the packer put a bottle of dish liquid into the same bag...yes, I now have soapy wet sugar lumps in the bag...not many mind and I am still wondering who I don't like enough that I will give the soapy lumps to so they can talk with "bubbly mouths" yee ha!

 
What I imagine is so great about your story, was when you found the note and had such a wonderful (m

memory of your Dad. I bet he must have been happy that you wanted him to share his knowledge...

Make sure you keep your note in a safe place, and look at it when ever you need a smile on your face!

I have something similiar (Although not food related) note I made during a discussion with my Pop-Pop. I keep it in my calendar (Which is where I wrote it originally, many years ago.
Every time I pass this page, it makes me pause and think good thoughts....

Regards,
Barb

 
I think it's actually so unfortunate that we don't have more discussions like this with our folks

when we can. I have always thought that experience has an unquantifiable value and we fail to take advantage of the opportunity to learn all we can from our old relatives.

NOW !! too late, I would love to know some of the stories of 'the old days' but of course, start to realize that for young generations, even I was part of the old days.

 
I too feel like this and am so blessed to have my 80 yr old here....

although during the many months years we have not seen her I have thought of so many things to ask her about and an expensive phone call later I have usually ahve the answer BUT it is a quick and to the point Q and A. Now she is here and I don't have time to really take in her little snippets as she is so slow to get in and out the car, seems to stand in doorways and worse, stops back there when I stop for her to catch me up and all the time I want her to get a move on and she is wanting to tell me something, let that snippet of interest out....I've tried to remember what it was that interested me when later we sit down and chat over a glass of wine but it eludes me and she doesn't have anything to jolt her memory, of course.
I am SOOOO having a great time seeing her baking up a storm , she even brought a few written out recipes that she knew were ones I like (I haven't told her I do have them in my recipe book. She was so thrilled she actually did bring them along)
Uh, Huh! don't think my sprogs feel that about me and the past, we all seem to be of the same age and stage these days.
Mum and I watched a TV thingy together last pm about the British royalty where she was dropping these tidbits, my (our)oldies were all tied in with this era what with the war/s, Royal visits to Africa and just generally!
I was fascinated.

 
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