Food Science: Cooking and Baking with Butter and Sugar

Posted by Brandon Shook on February 18, 2010 0 Comments

Not all butters and sugars are created equal

Butter and sugar, the two basic ingredients you will almost always need for baking. If you’ve looked around, you might have noticed a wide variety of different butters and sugars sitting around at your local grocer. I’m not talking about the different brands like Land O’ Lakes butter or Domino sugar. I’m talking about different types of butters and sugars that you might be ignoring.

Different Types of Butter

Each type of butter has a specific use and can add a unique flavor to what you are making. Since their are several types of butters fighting for a chance to be in your recipes I’ve decided to do a few comparisons.

Sweet Butter vs. Sweet Cream butter

First off, don’t let the names fool you. Sweet butter is just another name for unsalted and sweet cream butter is just another name for salted butter. To me, the addition of the word cream to denote salted is odd, but I’ll play along. Both unsalted and salted butter is made from sweet, pasteurized cream with the only difference being one has salt while the other doesn’t. As a rule, it is always recommended that you use unsalted butter for cooking because most recipes already call for salt. Baking with too much salt can cause the flour to toughen up making the result a little drier and chewier than normal. Salted butters are better used as a spread on breads to add extra flavor.

Raw Cream Butter vs. Cultured Butter

Raw cream butter is made from cultured unpasteurized cream and has a very creamy flavor due to the unpasteurized milk. You won’t be able to find this butter in the U.S. because the FDA requires all milk to be pasteurized for safety. If you do happen upon this butter remember, since it’s not pasteurized it only has a shelf life of about ten days. Unlike raw cream butter, cultured butter is pasteurized and is made from natural fermentation of the cream. The fermentation process makes the butter more acidic giving the butter a tangy taste. Because of the acidity, cultured butter thoroughly breaks down proteins in flour. If you’re looking to make crisp and light pastries this is the butter for you.

Whipped Butter vs. Clarified Butter

Whipped butter can be made from either unsalted or salted butter. Whipped butter is made through a process called aeration where nitrogen gas is added to the cream instead of oxygen. The aeration makes the butter fluffier and easier to spread. In contrast, clarified butter is much heavier. Clarified butter is unsalted butter that has had the milk solids and water removed leaving only pure butterfat. Clarified butter has a high smoke point because all the milk and water has been removed. Clarified butter has extremely buttery taste and is best for frying.

Different Types of Sugar

Just like butter there are various types of sugars you can find. First off, sugar is sugar. It’s all very sweet and helps make cavities, but what differentiates sugar isn’t so much taste, but the size of the sugar crystal. Here are a few sugar match-ups to help you understand usefulness of different sugars.

Regular White Sugar vs Course Sugar

Regular white sugar is the sugar we use to sweeten our coffee or pie. This is the most commonly used sugar because it has medium sized crystals that allow it to be versatile enough for a wide range of cooking. On the other hand, course sugar is very large and is made when syrup crystallizes. Because of the size of the crystal, course sugar takes longer to dissolve. If you want to make super crunchy cookies or liquors then you will want to use course sugar.

Confectioner Sugar and Superfine Sugar

Confectioner sugar also known as powdered sugar is granulated sugar that has been ground to a smooth powder, sifted, and has had cornstarch added to prevent clumping. Powdered sugar is used in icings and whipping cream and can be used to dust desserts to add a hint of sweetness. Superfine sugar or ultrafine sugar has the smallest sized crystals of white sugars. It is used to add delicate texture to cakes and cookies. It’s also used to sweeten fruits and drinks because it dissolves quickly.

Dark Brown Sugar and Light Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is a different from white sugar because it still has a coating molasses syrup on it. Dark brown sugar has a darker color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is good for baking gingerbread and other robust flavored foods. When making candies or glazes light brown sugar is the better choice.

Those were some interesting match-ups and I hope you learned something new. Now that you know more about the different types butters and sugars and the benefits each one brings, I hope you experiment with them and try something new. Now go out there and make something delicious.