What to use instead of cane sugar
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Sweetening a cold drink
It has to dissolve in cold liquid and taste of nothing but sweet. Granulated crystals sink and sit in the bottom of the glass, which is why bars keep syrup instead.
Simple syrup made from the same sugarRan out
2 tbsp of 1:1 syrup per 1 tbsp sugar
Mixes instantly and evenly. It adds a little water, so a shaken drink comes out marginally less concentrated.
Agave nectarRan out
2/3 the volume
Dissolves cold with no stirring and reads sweeter on the finish. Leaves a faint haze in a clear drink.
Honey, loosened firstRan out
3/4 the volume, stirred into 2 tbsp of hot water before it goes in
Brings its own flowery taste that takes over a lemonade. Clouds anything clear and settles if the drink stands.
Palm sugar or jaggeryRan out
1:1 by weight, melted in hot water first
Turns a clear limeade tan and brings caramel and a faint smokiness. This is the right move in Thai and Indian drinks.
What doesn't work: Powdered sugar. The cornstarch in it, around 3 percent, never dissolves. The glass goes hazy and a chalky film settles at the bottom within a minute.
Balancing acid and salt in a savoury sauce
Sugar rounds off vinegar and soy so the sauce reads glossy instead of harsh, and it is what makes a reduced sauce cling to meat rather than run off it.
Palm sugar or jaggeryRan out
1:1 by weight
Darker with a caramel edge. Right at home in Thai, Malay and Indian sauces and slightly heavy in a sweet-and-sour.
MirinRan out
3 tbsp mirin per 1 tbsp sugar, and simmer a minute longer
Adds liquid along with the sweetness, so the sauce needs more reducing. The glaze comes out shinier.
HoneyRan out
3/4 the volume, stirred in during the last minute
Scorches faster over high heat and takes the sauce a shade darker. The floral note reads clearly in anything mild.
Brown sugarRan out
1:1 by weight
The molasses adds colour and a slight sourness that suits pork and beef and muddies a clear sauce.
What doesn't work: Erythritol, sucralose or any tabletop sweetener. They taste sweet and they do not caramelise or thicken, so a sweet-and-sour sauce stays thin and watery and never picks up the sticky glaze that coats the pork.
Crystals that set into a crunchy coat
Melted sugar re-forms into crystals as it cools, and that brittle shell is the entire point of a candied nut or a toffee.
Brown sugarRan out
1:1 by weight
The molasses holds moisture, so the coat sets chewy rather than glassy and browns sooner in the oven.
Turbinado or demeraraRan out
1:1 by weight
Bigger crystals that stay slightly grainy on the surface. Takes an extra minute or two to melt fully.
Coconut sugarRan out
1:1 by weight
Much darker and less sweet, with a caramel-smoke flavour. It sets softer, so the nuts stay tacky at the edges.
What doesn't work: Maple syrup or honey at 1:1. Liquid sweeteners never crystallise, so the nuts come out of the oven sticky and stay tacky for days instead of snapping.