[Sca-cooks] sugar

[Daniel Myers]

On Jul 14, 2007, at 7:50 PM, Suey wrote:

> 	By the way I have been using only brown sugar of late when I cook  
> as I only prepare 13-15th century dishes. I find it much richer.


The problem with this is that brown sugar is a modern invention, in  
which a little molasses is added to refined white sugar to give it  
added color, flavor, and moisture.

All of the evidence I've seen indicates that by the time sugar was  
being used in cooking instead of honey (in northern Europe), that  
they were already able to refine it as white as it can be made now,  
and could powder it just as finely as we can now.

If you're trying to re-create the cooking of the poor, you'd be  
better off using honey.  Those who could afford sugar could also  
afford to use fine white sugar where it was appropriate.

- Doc


-=-=-=-
247. Take Vyolets and almaundys, and boyle yt in fayre water, an than  
take it vp, and pyke it clene in-to a fayre potte, an whan they haue  
boyle a whyle, take pouder of gyngere an caste therto, an a lytil  
venegre, an a lytil safron, an serue forth in the maner as a Sewe.   
[The Boke of Swyllyng]
-=-=-=-