As far as I can tell, those packets of raw sugar have the same calories as refined sugar, with 1/10th the ability to sweeten. So if you wish to sweeten your coffee, for example, you end up consuming about 5x the sugar, than if your stupid coffee shop just offered regular damn white sugar. Why? Why does this stuff exist? Who prefers it?
Health wise they’re the same thing. Flavor wise Sugar in the Raw (turbinado sugar) has a little bit of molasses in it so the flavor is slightly different. I think using it in coffee and tea is a waste personally, but it’s very good on top of baked goods.
I use it in coffee specifically because I don’t want the hyper sweetness that white sugar provides. I think that the molasses takes the edge out of the coffee which allows me to use less of it. It could also be a mental thing but I’m still using less sugar so…
It’s Turbinado sugar. Essentially brown sugar but bigger crystals.
People want it because it’s less refined compared to white sugar and still contains molasses.
I assume the fact that the crystals are bigger means you require more.
I assume the fact that the crystals are bigger means you require more.
OP seems to be using it to sweeten a drink, so the crystal size should only affect how long it takes to dissolve, not how sweet it tastes. The additional flavor from the molasses might make it seem a little less sweet than white sugar, but only a little.
the crystal size should only affect how long it takes to dissolve, not how sweet it tastes
Unless OP isn’t giving the crystals sufficient time to dissolve, which would give it the appearance of having less sweetening power
It’s just sugar with a teensy bit of the natural brown color from unrefined molasses left in it. I don’t find your observation that it takes 5 or 10 times as much of it to sweeten something to be true for me whatsoever, it’s almost exactly the same, and leaves me wondering if perhaps you also find that today’s low-flow toilets need to be flushed dozens of times to work, or that you turn on modern showers and just a tiny trickle comes out :)
Websearch told me that what you’re calling “sugar in the raw” is simply a type of “naturally” brown sugar (instead of extracting the molasses, concentrating them, and putting them back, you simply remove the water). If that’s correct:
Calories-wise it’s roughly the same deal as refined sugar. It should contain a bit more iron, but not enough to be a good source of. (Go eat some meat or legumes for that.)
Main difference is a more complex flavour. It shouldn’t be meaningfully less able to sweeten things, unless not properly dissolved.
My first thought was that maybe the Sugar in the Raw packets have less product in them, since turbinado sugar is more expensive than white sugar, but a quick googling tells me that Sugar in the Raw packets are 5 grams and standard sugar packets are in the 2.3- 3 gram range. So if you use a comparable number of packets out of habit, you really are doubling your sugar intake.
So I think it must just be a solubility thing, as suggested below. The big crystals do end up sunk to the bottom of a cold drink undissolved. If it’s a hot drink… 🤷♀️
