What to use instead of 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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Sweetness plus structure in baking
Sugar holds onto water, which keeps the crumb soft for days, and it raises the temperature at which the eggs and starch set, so the cake has longer to rise before it locks.
Light or dark brown sugarRan out
1:1, packed
The molasses brings acid and moisture, so cookies chew softer and darker and cake browns faster. Dark brown can taste smoky in a delicate sponge.
Coconut sugarRan out
1:1 by weight
Less sweet and much darker. The crystals are coarse and dry, so creamed batters take in less air and the crumb comes out tighter.
HoneyRan out
3/4 cup honey per 1 cup sugar, cut the other liquid by 3 tbsp and drop the oven 15C
Browns much faster and stays moist for days. It tastes of honey no matter what else is in there.
Maple syrupRan out
3/4 cup per 1 cup sugar, cut the other liquid by 3 tbsp
Softer, denser crumb and a caramel-maple flavour. It will not cream with butter, so use it in batters that are stirred.
What doesn't work: Erythritol or a stevia blend measured cup for cup in a cake. They hold no water and do not brown, so the crumb bakes pale and dry and shrinks as it cools, and erythritol recrystallises into a gritty, cooling crust.
Taking the edge off acid in a savoury sauce
A small amount blunts the sharp front of tomato, vinegar or chilli without registering as sweetness.
HoneyRan out
3/4 tsp per 1 tsp sugar
Rounder and it lingers longer on the palate. It browns the sauce faster on the bottom of the pan.
Jaggery or palm sugarRan out
1:1, grated
Caramel and faint smoke underneath. It dissolves slowly, so break it up in a little hot liquid first.
A grated carrot cooked into the baseRan out
1 small carrot per 800 g can of tomatoes
Sweetens gradually as it breaks down and adds body. No sugary top note, and it takes 20 minutes to work.
What doesn't work: Molasses swapped one for one. It is sour, bitter and smoky in its own right, so a tomato sauce made with it tastes of barbecue and the acid problem is still there underneath.
Caramel and browning
Above 160C sugar breaks apart into hundreds of new compounds, which is where the colour and the bitter-sweet flavour come from.
Brown sugarRan out
1:1
Colours earlier and darker because the molasses browns first, so you lose the visual cue for when it is done. Go by smell.
Golden syrup or cane syrupRan out
1:1 by weight
Will not crystallise, so it is far more forgiving in a caramel that has to be stirred. Sets softer and stickier.
Maple syrupRan out
1:1 by weight, boiled to 115C for a soft caramel
Tastes strongly of maple and scorches earlier than sugar. Watch it from 110C.
What doesn't work: Powdered sugar. The cornstarch cut into it goes cloudy and gritty and scorches before the sugar has melted, so the caramel tastes burnt and looks muddy.
Weigh when swapping in a liquid sweetener: a cup of sugar is 200 g and a cup of honey is 340 g.