70 Names Used For Just One Sugar

Cane and beet sugars are the favorite and most recognizable sweeteners. Their unmatched versatility is due to their main component – sucrose. We call them simply "sugar" but it comprises forty sweeteners available in granulated form (with a variety of crystal sizes and amount of molasses) and as liquids (syrups and molasses).

On my quest to discover all caloric sweeteners from sugar cane and sugar beet I could possibly find, I came across many names used on the front label of forty different products and almost one hundred brands. Names are the terms used by the sugar manufacturer or distributor to describe the type of sweetener. If you are confused about the different types of sugar in stores and would like to learn how to identify them, this blog post is for you.

First, you need to know that cane sugars are sold in refined, raw, and unrefined forms but beet sugar is available in refined form only. Therefore, I divided sweeteners in this post according to their degree of refining: unrefined, raw, and refined.

To learn the difference between them, read two of my previous blog posts:

Cane Sugar: Unrefined vs Raw vs Refined

What is sugar?

Note: The terms sugar cane and sugar beet are made up of two words. To simplify, I connect the words and use sugarcane and sugarbeet or I simply use cane and beet.

Unrefined Sugar

Unrefined sugars are made from cane only. They are not really "unrefined" but are the least refined cane sugars in stores. The refining process used varies with the manufacturer, but it always involves collecting cane juice, clarifying it, and boiling its water off. Unrefined sugars are typically not centrifuged to remove the original cane molasses at any stage during their refining.

They come from cane-growing countries like Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Japan, and Mauritius. Unrefined sugars contain 8 to 14% molasses, which gives a strong flavor and brown color. Refer to a previous blog post to learn more: What is an unrefined sugar, anyway?

Unrefined sugars may or may not be certified organic. If that is what you are looking for, read my previous post titled Organic Sugar: What does it actually mean?.

I list below the names on the front label of unrefined sugars:

1. Hand crafted cane sugar =>

2. Unrefined cane sugar =>

3. Whole cane sugar =>

4. Light muscovado sugar =>

5. Dark muscovado sugar =>

6. Jaggery =>

7. Ground jaggery =>

8. Okinawa kokuto =>

9. Piloncillo =>

10. Panela =>

11. Ground panela =>

12. Sucanat =>

13. Traditional cane syrup =>

14. Original molasses =>

15. Homestyle molasses​ =>

Raw Sugar

Raw sugars are also made from cane only. They are produced in cane-growing countries from the first batch of sugar crystallized from the cane juice. Raw sugars are slightly less refined but much less processed than refined sugars listed next in this post. They retain a little bit of the original cane molasses. Most of them contain around 2% molasses, which gives them a hint of flavor and color. All raw sugars, except the Florida Crystals brand, are imported.

They may or may not be certified organic [read about it in a previous post titled Organic Sugar: What does it actually mean?] Organic light and brown sugars are made by blending organic molasses with organic sugar. To learn more by referring to this post: Raw Sugar: From Turbinado to Demerara, Find out Exactly What it is

I list below the names you may find in the front label of raw sugars:

1. Raw cane sugar =>

2. Washed sugar =>

3. Turbinado sugar =>

4. Demerara sugar =>

5. Evaporated cane juice =>

6. Dried cane syrup =>

7. Dehydrated cane juice =>

8. Natural cane sugar =>

9. Less processed sugar =>

10. Golden sugar =>

11. Organic sugar =>

12. Organic powdered (confectioners) =>

13. Organic light brown sugar =>

14. Organic dark brown sugar =>

15. Demerara sugar cubes =>

16. Liquid cane sugar =>

17. Organic molasses =>

18. Organic blackstrap molasses =>

Refined Sugars

Refined sugars are made from cane and beet plants. They are all highly processed and slightly less refined than the raw sugars listed above. Cane sugars are produced in a Sugar Refinery using raw sugar as starting material. Beet sugars are made in a Sugar Factory. All molasses listed here are from cane, as beet molasses are not palatable. Liquid sweeteners are listed last in bold letters. Learn more by visiting my refined sugar page or by reading two previous posts: Cane vs Beet Sugar: A Difference? and What is refined sugar?.

1. Granulated =>

2. Fine granulated =>

3. Extra fine granulated =>

4. Superfine =>

5. Quick dissolve =>

6. Ultrafine =>

7. Baker’s special =>

8. Baker’s Sugar™ =>

9. Caster =>

10. Powdered =>

11. Confectioners ('s) =>

12. Fondant & Icing =>

13. Sparkling =>

14. Sanding =>

15. Decorating or decoratif =>

16. Swedish pearl =>

17. Belgian pearl =>

18. Light brown =>

19. Golden brown =>

20. Dark brown =>

21. Pourable brown =>

22. Brownulated® =>

23. Sugar cubes =>

24. Sugar tablets =>

25. Gourmet sugar =>

26. White sugar swizzle sticks =>

27. Brown sugar swizzle sticks =>

28. Sugar crystals =>

29. Rock sugar =>

30. Simple syrup =>

31. Golden syrup =>

32. Cane syrup =>

33. Liquid cane sugar =>

34. Invert (inverted) syrup =>

35. Invert (liquid invert) sugar =>

36. Light or mild molasses =>

37. Baking molasses =>

38. Full molasses =>

39. Robust molasses =>

40. Blackstrap molasses =>

41. Black treacle =>

42. Unsulphured or unsulfured molasses

Unboxing Video

The video below shows the wide variety of names used by sweetener manufacturers and distributors to describe their sugars. For you to get the idea, this video takes a glimpse at cane sugars sold by the Texas-based Wholesome Sweeteners Inc. It distributes only fair trade certified and non-GMO Verified cane sweeteners, which they source from Paraguay, Malawi, and Costa Rica. According to its website, "Wholesome" is the leading American brand of organic, fair trade and non-GMO sweeteners. Visit their Amazon storefront here.

Takeaway

The term "sugar" on food labels encompasses 40 types of sweeteners made from cane or beet, and you may find them labeled with 70 different names.

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