Demerara, turbinado brown (aka sugar in the raw), and white sugar all sit next to each in your local grocery store, however the sugar aren’t quite the same. You might need Amazon delivery for the demerara sugar, as I did, but that’s not the point here. Since most people are familiar with plain simple syrup, we’re going to focus on the other two sugars most often used in cocktail creation.
Demerara sugar is named after the 1800’s sugarcane fields in the Sourth American colony of Demerara, which is modern day Guyana. Interestingly, today most demerara sugar is produced in Mauritius in Africa. Demerara comes from the first pressing of raw sugar cane; the cane is heated to a thick syrup, dehydrated to form large crystals. This shorted process and single press retains molasses, the golden brown color, and leaves it with rather large crystals.
Turbinado sugar’s name is of Portuguese origin, named after the manner in which the sugar cane is processed; the sugar is spun in turbines as it is being processed to remove some of it’s molasses content. Turbinado comes exclusively from the first pressing of sugar cane but the process refines the raw cane slightly more than demerara, making turbinado sugar, slightly lighter, less sticky, slightly milder in flavor and scent, and smaller crystals.
Let us start with the look. There are two main differences: size and consistency. In reference to size they are very similar and pretty often they are mistaken for one another. If you see a single pile sitting on a plate you have a 50-50 chance of identifying them correctly. They’re both coarse-grained brown sugars, however demerara has a larger-grain and turbinado has a slightly finer grain. Secondly, demerara is slightly stickier because of the higher molasses content. Turbinado sugar is not as sticky, as the refinement process removes more molasses, and, when poured, flows more like refined white sugar.
The scents are very similar; both have the same base molasses. If you open a container of demerara sugar the scent of molasses, caramel, toffee, and coffee smacks you in the face. With turbinado, you get some molasses as well, but it is a little milder. Taking into consideration that turbinado is more refined, it makes sense that the scent would be milder. Coffee shops around the world offer “Sugar In the Raw” packets of sugar and most people don’t know that’s turbinado sugar! I don’t know about you, but even though turbinado sugar is more refined than demerara, I still prefer it over white sugar in my coffee any day!
The difference in the taste of demerara versus turbinado is so imperceptible that unless you had them side by side (or were one of those bizarro super tasters we hear about) you would be unlikely to discern between the two. I however am sitting in front of a jar of each and can compare. The flavor of demerara is belied by the darker color and scent: it has a deeper, richer molasses flavor. On the other hand, turbinado sugar, with it’s slightly lighter color and milder scent, is almost imperceptibly milder in molasses flavor. Side by side you can just barely tell the difference between them, tasted separately there is no discernable difference.
How do you make demerara or turbinado simple syrup? It is a 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 sugar to water ratio? Do you do it by weight? I have read a whole bunch of random articles and gotten an equal number of different answers. So for a super scientific vibe you would do it with weight, but you will never notice the difference in taste if you choose to do it by volume instead of weight. The 1 to 1 ratio is a standard simple syrup recipe which, when stored properly, can last up to a month in the fridge. “Rich syrup,” which is a 2 to 1 ratio, can last up to six months. There is way more detail on “rich syrup” so maybe this will be a future article ….
This will totally pair well with brown spirits which is why I am writing this article!