Once a prize kept under lock and key in wealthy households, sugar is now ubiquitous and comes in many forms. Most commercial sugar is made from cane or beet root. Here's a look at the most common types of sugar used in the kitchen.
Granulated white sugar: White sugar is highly refined and made from sugarcane or beets. This all-purpose refined white sugar has small but fairly coarse crystals and is used to sprinkle on food, sweeten beverages, or add to dishes during cooking. Golden granulated sugar is a brown sugar made from sugar cane molasses that is similar but has a light brown color.
Castor (caster) or superfine sugar: This refined white sugar has fine crystals that dissolve more quickly than regular granulated sugar, making it a good choice for baking meringues. Golden castor sugar is made from unrefined cane sugar.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar that has been mixed with molasses to color it and give it a moist texture. Light brown sugar has less molasses than dark brown sugar. Brown sugar should not be confused with raw sugar, which has a similar color and taste but is actually the residue from processed sugarcane.
Turbinado sugar: A sugar cane extract that is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. It has large crystals and a slight molasses flavor. It's a shade paler than brown sugar and can be substituted for brown sugar in recipes. We like to use turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins, cookies and scones. It holds its texture well and, when cooked, has a nice sweet crunch.
Demerara Sugar: True Demerara sugar is raw or partly refined sugar with large crystals, but some impostors are nothing more than white sugar stained with molasses.
Muscovado Sugar: This raw cane sugar comes in light and dark varieties and is used to make cakes and desserts.
Powdered, icing or confectioner's sugar: This sugar is made by reducing granulated sugar to a powder and mixing it with starch to prevent it from lumping up. It's used to decorate cakes and can also be used in making sweet dishes and baked goods.
What do I do with leftover coconut milk?
What do I do with leftover coconut milk?
When you're cooking with a specialty ingredient like coconut milk, it's not unusual to have some left over. Here are some ideas of what to do with that last bit of creamy sweet liquid:
-Braise any combination of chicken, shrimp, cilantro, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice and fish sauce, then serve over rice. (Recipe: Bangkok Hoppin' John)
-Stir into soups and stews with cilantro, fish sauce and chiles. (Recipe: Thai Shrimp, Coconut And Mushroom Soup)
-Mix into hot rice and top with mango slices for a fresh dessert.
-Try it on some oatmeal for a hot breakfast cereal.
Which rices can I use for risotto?
Which rices can I use for risotto?
For this classic northern Italian dish, you want an absorbant, high-starch rice with short, fat grains that will yield a moist, creamy risotto but hold their own for an al dente bite.
Arborio has long been the favorite, but recently, the more expensive and less widely available Carnaroli has become the rice of choice for risotto connoisseurs. Vialone Nano, from the Veneto, can absorb twice its weight in liquid, meaning it is hard to overcook (although some cooks claim it produces a less delicate result). Carnaroli is a hybrid of Vialone Nano and a Japanese rice that was developed in Italy in the 1940s.
Risotto is made by sautéing rice grains in a bit of butter and/or olive oil and diced onion until translucent, then ladling in stock gradually and letting it to absorb before adding more. This process is repeated until the rice is cooked (18-20 minutes).
Most risotto recipes call for almost constant stirring to help release some of the rice's starch and result in a creamy finished dish. We're not so militant about the constant stirring -- in our experience, it's one of those passed-down recipe-isms that doesn't make as much of a difference on the finished dish as conventional wisdom says it does.
Reference: What does al dente mean?
Recipe: Risotto With Treviso Radicchio And Taleggio (Lucullian Delights)
Recipe: Cauliflower Risotto With Spicy Pangrattato (Traveler's Lunchbox)
Recipe: Roasted Beet Risotto (Coconut & Lime)
