Ingredientbeginnerdraft
Sugar
Also searched as: granulated sugar, icing sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, caster sugar
In short: Sugar does more than sweeten. It keeps cakes moist, makes doughs tender, browns the crust and stabilises meringue.
Picture it
Like a sponge in the batter: it holds on to water and makes the cake dry out more slowly.
What Sugar does
Tap a dot to see its connections.
What happens
Sugar dissolves in the water in a batter and holds on to it. It slips between proteins and starch and so makes baked goods more tender. In the oven it browns the surface.
What the ingredient does
holds water, keeps things moistJuicy
slows the gluten network, makes things tenderGluten development
browns and caramelisesCaramelisation
stabilises meringueFoams and whipping in air
makes cookies spreadCookies spread
Rules of thumb
- Cutting the sugar in a recipe too much makes cake dry and tough, not just less sweet.
- Brown sugar holds more moisture: moister, softer cookies.
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Kuchen, Gebäck, Zucker
- The Bake School: Why chill cookie dough