More than just sweetness
Sweet as sugar is a common expression, and sugar certainly adds sweetness. But in addition to its pure, clear sweetness, sugar also has a number of other natural qualities that are an advantage in the kitchen.
Jams and jellies
Sugar enhances the flavours of fruit and berries and gives your home-made marmalades, jams and jellies a pleasant sweetness. Sugar’s ability to gel when combined with pectin and fruit acid gives marmalades, jams and jellies the right texture.
Because sugar binds water, it acts as a natural preservative. Microorganisms, which cause food to go bad, can only live in free water. Sugar also helps to preserve the natural colours of fruit and berries.
Sugar has an impact on
• Sweetness
• Taste and aroma
• Texture
• Keeping qualities
• Colour
Juice
Boiling your own juice is a wonderful way to extend the summer. In this context sugar has several important functions. Sugar enhances the flavours of fruit and berries and adds sweetness to balance their freshness.
Sugar is also a natural way to improve the keeping qualities of the juice. Because sugar binds the water content of the ingredients, the growth of microorganisms is prevented. In addition, sugar makes your home-made juice retain its colour for longer.
Sugar has an impact on
• Sweetness
• Taste and aroma
• Keeping qualities
• Colour
Bread, cakes and pastries
For those who like to bake, sugar is a key ingredient to have in the kitchen. Sugar adds flavour but also plays a decisive role in relation to texture, volume and keeping qualities.
When you bake bread, the sugar nourishes the yeast. During the rising process, carbon dioxide is formed, which causes the dough to swell so that the bread becomes moister and more airy. Depending on the amount of sugar or syrup, there may not be any sugar left in the end product.
In pastries and moist cakes, the sugar binds the dough, which adds volume to the end product. Because the sugar binds water, it also improves the keeping qualities. Biscuits and crusts get their crispness and colour as a result of the way sugar reacts when heated.
Sugar has an impact on
• Sweetness
• Taste and aroma
• Volume
• Texture
• Rising qualities
• Keeping qualities
• Colour
Ice cream
The higher the concentration of sugar, the lower the freezing point. This is an advantage in ice cream and other frozen desserts, where the sugar counteracts the formation of large ice crystals and gives the ice cream a smooth and creamy consistency. And, of course, the sugar also adds sweetness, while enhancing other flavours in the ice cream such as vanilla seeds, fruit or berries.
Sugar has an impact on
• Sweetness
• Taste and aroma
• Freezing point
