"sugars" news and stories

October 30th is National Candy Corn Day and while we've talked a little bit about what it tastes like, we haven't talked at all about its history at all.

Candy corn was created in the 1880s by the Wunderlee Candy Company and, by 1900, was being produced by the Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly), which has continuously produced it for more than a century. Candy corns get their name from the fact that they are shaped like a kernel of corn. Although they are often shown point-up, the yellow end is really the "top" of the corn. The design apparently made it popular with farmers when it first came out, but it was the fact that it had three colors - a really innovative idea - that catapulted it to popularity.

Originally, candy corn was made of sugar, corn syrup (not HFCS), fondant and marshmallow, among other things, and the hot mixture was poured into cornstarch molds, where it set up. This original mixture is probably where the name of the candy corn-like Mellocreme Pumpkins comes from. The recipe changed slightly over time and there are probably a few variations in recipes between candy companies, but the use of a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and vanilla (as well as honey, in some brands) is the standard.

A serving of candy corn has about 22 pieces and contains 140 calories, no fat. While it is just about all sugar, the sweet can still be a better choice than a couple of mini candy bars or other Halloween treats that are high in both calories and in fat. Additionally, 22 pieces of candy corn will last a lot longer than one mini candy bar will.

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Piloncillo is an unrefined sugar that is commonly used in Mexican cooking. The sugar has been around for at least 500 years, and was being made before the Spanish came to Mexico around 1500. It is made when sugar canes are crushed, the juice is collected and boiled then poured into molds, where it hardens into blocks. The fact that it comes in block form is one of the reasons why white and brown sugars are more commonly used, even in Mexican cooking, than piloncillo once was. To use it, it must be grated or chiseled off the main block - a process which is well worth the resulting flavor boost in food to some, but too time consuming for others to bother.

Unlike white sugar, which is flat and one-dimensional in its sweet flavor, piloncillo is smoky, caramely and earthy. It has far more flavor than brown sugar, which is generally just white sugar with a small amount of molasses added back to it. It can be uses in moles and other sauces, as well as to simple sweeten coffee or top off buttery toast. In most applications, it must be melted down to be incorporated into recipes. You can find piloncillo in many Mexican or Latin American grocery stores or order it online.

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Plain sugar is a granulated sweetener that comes in fine crystals, about the size and shape of salt crystals. There are different degrees of fineness for sugars and they all have different uses.

Superfine sugar is regular (granulated) sugar that has been ground more finely. It is sometimes sold as baker's sugar and is also known as castor sugar. It can be used as a substitute for regular sugar and may produce a slightly finer crumb(texture) in the finished product than regular sugar would, a result that is preferred by many bakers. Regular sugar, however, should not be substituted in the same way. Superfine sugar is almost always called for in recipes that are very light, like meringues and angel food cakes. It contributes to a light, delicate final product because the small grains dissolve into the mixture very quickly, while a coarser crystal might not be incorporated as fully or as quickly. You can make superfine sugar yourself by putting coarser sugar into the food processor and whizzing it around several times to break up larger crystals.

There is no widely accepted definition of the word "natural" as far as the Food and Drug Administration is concerned. Many products use the term in their marketing but contain synthetic ingredients and the vast majority of people would support an  official definition. Smaller majorities favored basing the definition on the amount of processing that a product undergoes or how exactly the raw material is altered. The Sugar Association has been lobbying the FDA to adopt an official standard - such as the USDA has for beef and poultry - for some time to try and prevent manufactured sugar substitutes, like Splenda, from labeling themselves as a natural product. "Natural" is defined by the USDA as any product "containing no artificial ingredient or added color and [that] is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product)."