Maple Sugar Substitute

Maple sugar is the sugar obtained from maple syrup. Maple syrup is a sweetener that is derived from the sap of maple trees, more commonly from the red, black and sugar maple trees. Usually, the sap of the sugar maple tree is clear and very low in sugar content. But when the sap is boiled, water evaporates from the sap, and as a result it turns into a viscous, amber-colored syrup. If the syrup is boiled further, eventually all the water evaporates, leaving behind solid sugar grains. Maple sugar is mainly sucrose, though a small amount of glucose and fructose can also be found. Today, this sugar is mainly used as a food additive to flavor a number of maple products. However, it can also be used as a substitute for the ordinary granulated sugar. In reality, there is no good substitute for maple sugar, though a few other sweeteners can be used in its place while cooking.

Replacing Maple Sugar in the Kitchen

The ordinary white sugar prepared from sugar cane juice can be used as an alternative to maple sugar. But maple sugar is twice as sweet as ordinary sugar, which needs to be kept in mind while substituting one for the other. Another alternative is light brown sugar. Sometimes, maple syrup can also be used as a substitute. Apart from these, sucanat and date sugar are two other important substitutes.

Sucanat or sucanat sugar can be termed as a non-refined or minimally processed version of cane sugar. For making sucanat, sugar cane juice is simply heated, and then allowed to cool down. This leads to the formation of small and brown colored granulated crystals or sucanat, which is basically dried sugar cane juice. Due to minimal processing, sucanat sugar retains the natural mollasses On the other hand, refined white sugar loses most of its molasses content while going through the refining process.

Date sugar is quite different from other types of sugar. It is basically, finely chopped pieces of dry or dehydrated dates. In other words, date sugar is not a processed sugar, for which many prefer to use it. However, date sugar tends to form clumps and it does not melt. For this reason, date sugar is usually not considered suitable for sweetening beverages, or for baking goods. But, it can be used as its substitute in the recipes that do not require sugar to melt.

Is Maple Sugar Good for You?

Maple sugar, as has been mentioned already, is primarily sucrose. About 1 teaspoon of maple sugar contains approximately 11 calories. Ordinary white sugar is also sucrose, and 1 teaspoon of white sugar usually contains 15 calories. Generally, maple syrup is considered to have a number of health benefits, due to the presence of the nutrients like manganese, potassium, magnesium and zinc. the pure maple sugar can also contain a some B vitamins and a few minerals such as, manganese, potassium and calcium. It is a minimally processed sweetener as compared to refined sugar, for which many people consider it as a healthier alternative than refined sugar.

So, maple sugar, just like the ordinary refined sugar is mainly sucrose. But, it has a much stronger flavor than white sugar. As a sweetener, it is added to maple products, but can also be used in a variety of baked goods, cereals, pudding, desserts, brownies and cookies. In other words, it can be used much like the ordinary sugar. But when you cannot find this sugar, you can use light brown sugar, sucanat, date sugar, and even ordinary white sugar as its substitutes.