Sweet stuff. We all love something sweet, but with so much information about sweeteners floating about, it can be hard to discern the truth. You really have to be a label reader to even find out what types of sweeteners are in most products. I am always amazed at the number of product that have added sweetener, which includes everything from canned string beans to frozen lasagna.
Cane or Beet Sugars
This is what most of us call sugar. It comes in many types, but that bag of sugar you buy is usually one of the two or even a mix. In the U.S., it’s usually cane sugar. That’s because sugar cane is grown in Texas, Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico (1). Two brands have on their label that they are pure cane sugar: Dixie and Dominos. However, beets are grown for sugar in the U.S. too. The states that grow sugar beets are Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and Texas (2). There are many types of sugar you can buy depending on what you are going to use the sugar for and also your tastes. Cooks usually need white granulated, confectioner, molasses, and brown.
White granulated sugar is used in making teas and fruit drinks like lemonade. It is also used in many recipes like pancakes, soups, vegetables, baked goods, and many others. Cooks find white sugar invaluable in the kitchen.
Confectioner’s sugar is also in most kitchens. It is used to make frostings, dust baked goods and sweeten some drinks.
Molasses is the by-product of making sugar from sugar cane or beets. Sulfured molasses comes only from sugar cane. The city where I am from was the home of Grandma’s Molasses so I grew up eating that delight. To me there’s nothing better than a hot, buttered, buttermilk biscuit topped with molasses. My mouth waters when I just think about eating this treat.
Brown sugar is used mostly in baking. Some people prefer brown sugar in oatmeal and on other cereals. Brown sugar is less refined than white sugar, but it is more expensive. Go figure that out! One thing about brown sugar that I find annoying is the tendency to turn into a brown brick. Then you have to scrape off what you need or take a hammer to the brick. Since most people don’t use a lot of brown sugar, here’s a tip for you. Take one cup of white sugar and put it into a bowl. Add one tablespoon of molasses and mix well. Now you have brown sugar.
High Fructose Corn Syrup or Sugar
You use it if you want; I avoid it. There is so much conflicting information about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It’s hard to know what to believe. Let me just tell you that it’s in almost every processed food or drink you buy. The major issue with HFCS is that the body doesn’t know exactly what it is or what to do with it. The latest research says that this inability of the body to correctly process HFCS is what causes the problem. You eat food or drink drinks with HFCS, but the brain function that tells you that you’re full doesn’t work due to HFCS’s chemical composition. We do have an obesity epidemic here in the US and many researchers think HFCS is one of the reasons. The producers and retailers of HFCS have their own studies that say it is just fine. I’m just not sure, so I can’t recommend high fructose corn syrup or sugar. That said, I still love Karo syrup, but Karo isn’t the same thing. It’s naturally occurring corn syrup.
Artificial Sweeteners
I don’t like these either. Some are strange chemical mixes and no real long-term research has been done on them as to their effects on the human body. To me, most artificial sweeteners make food and drink taste strange. A partial list of these products includes aspartame, saccharin, NutraSweet, Equal, Splenda, and Sweet & Low. I’m not convinced, but you make your own decision.
Other Sweeteners
There are mainly three other sweeteners that people use. They are Stevia, agave and honey. Stevia is a plant that is naturally sweet and has no calories. Just remember it is potent so start off using just a small amount. You can add more, but you can’t take it out. Agave nectar comes from Mexico or South Africa. Hey, it’s the Blue Agave plant that is used to make tequila. Right now Agave nectar is all the rage for the health conscious (3). I’m partial to honey, especially the local kind. You shouldn’t give honey to kids under two, but it’s great for the rest of us. Besides being a sweetener, local honey can help alleviate those air borne allergens which cause coughing and a stuffy nose (4).
Whew!
Now I need a piece of cake. After all this talk of sweeteners, my sweet tooth beckons me. I don’t eat many sweets, but a slice of good cake every now and then is okay. I tend to gravitate toward either really chocolate cake or one made with fruit.
Sunshine CakeI can’t remember where I got the original recipe from, but supposedly, it was first published a long time ago in Readers’ Digest. This cake is delicious and is full of fruit so it’s at least a little good for you (SMILE).
Sunshine Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package moist yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or margarine
- 1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 (11 ounce) can chopped, drained Mandarin oranges, reserve the juice
- 3/4 cup crushed pineapple, juice squeezed out
- 1/2 large jar of Maraschino cherries, juice drained and cherries chopped
**Note: Make sure the fruit you will be adding to the cake is squeezed fairly dry. Then lightly dust the fruit with a small amount of flour so it won’t sink to the bottom of the pan during cooking.
Directions
- Combine the pudding and cake mixes together. Beat the eggs, and add them to the dry mix. Add the oil and juice. Now add the Mandarin oranges, pineapple and the cherries to the batter. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.
- Bake the cake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 325 degrees F. Insert a clean, dry toothpick into the center of the cake to test for doneness; it should come out clean. Leave the cake in the pan and cool on wire rack.
- While cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Put the frosting in refrigerator to set. Frost when cake has thoroughly cooled.
Cake Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
Directions
- In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar.
- Add coconut and mix well by hand.
- Store in the refrigerator after use.
- After frosting the Sunshine Cake decorate it with Mandarin orange slices and the rest of the cherries.
My husband loves this cake. In our house a cake lasts about two weeks so keep it refrigerated. This time, I used a Bundt pan. Don’t! Why? This cake is too moist and doesn’t slice well. A sheet cake pan works much better.
Endnotes:
© 2011, Katherine Hegemann
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