Sucanat

I have mentioned in some recipes that I use sucanat in place of refined white sugar.  I thought I should explain what it is and how to use it.  Sucanat stands for sugar cane natural - it is organic whole cane sugar.  Yes, it's sugar, but it is not processed the same way white sugar is.  This kind of sugar is dehydrated at low heat and contains the molasses still in the original cane juice.  The molasses is where many of the nutrients from the original cane juice are found, and what your body needs to properly digest sugar.  This is why it is brown.  You may wonder if brown sugar that has molasses added to make it that way is just as healthy as whole cane sugar, and it's not.  They add such a small amount of molasses that has been heated to kill most of the nutrients anyway that it is definitely not the same! 

You can find packages of sucanat in some health food stores or in their bulk food sections.  You can also buy it online, but make sure it is called sucanat, rapadura or organic whole cane sugar.  Use it cup for cup in your recipes that call for sugar.  The only noticeable difference is the color.  It may make some recipes look just slightly different if they are a light color, but for most, it won't matter.

This brings me to another point, there are several terms on the market that might make you think you are buying something healthy or the same as sucanat when they are really not.  Beware of "evaporated cane juice/sugar" or sugar in the raw.  These are almost identical to refined white sugar and NOT what you want to put in your body if you are trying to be processed free.