brown sugar

chemical compound

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Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

Brown sugar is a type of sugar characterized by its soft crystals coated in a film of syrup, giving it its distinctive color and flavor. Chemically, it is primarily sucrose, a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose.123

The molasses that gives brown sugar its color is typically derived from sugarcane processing. While brown sugar can be made from sugar beets, these often have sugarcane molasses added. Some chefs believe that brown sugar made from sugarcane has a different impact on baked goods compared to beet sugar brown sugar, potentially due to moisture differences.4

Molasses itself is a syrup remaining after sugar crystals are removed from sugarcane or beet juice. Lighter grades of molasses from sugarcane are edible and used in baking, while darker grades like blackstrap molasses have various industrial uses.5

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oatmeal
Preparation
…be sweetened, most commonly with brown sugar, and garnished with cream, fresh or dried fruits, nuts or nut butters, seeds, and spices, including cinnamon. Oatmeal can be made from any of the various forms of oats, with differences in texture, flavor, and length of the cooking process. The least-processed type…
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…be sweetened, most commonly with brown sugar, and garnished with cream, fresh or dried fruits, nuts or nut butters, seeds, and spices, including cinnamon. Oatmeal can be made from any of the various forms of oats, with differences in texture, flavor, and length of the cooking process. The least-processed type…
Read More

sugar
Crystallization
Brown sugars (light to dark) are either crystallized from a mixture of brown and yellow syrups (with caramel added for darkest colour) or made by coating white crystals with a brown-sugar syrup.
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Brown sugars (light to dark) are either crystallized from a mixture of brown and yellow syrups (with caramel added for darkest colour) or made by coating white crystals with a brown-sugar syrup.
Read More