Few ingredients are as loved, loathed and feared as sugar . We adore it for its starring role in many of our favourite desserts. We are sceptical of the way it sneaks into foods where we least expect it.
A recipe’s success may hinge on what type and how much sugar you use, whether it’s the many tablespoons needed to cream butter and sugar or the pinch that makes a savoury dish taste just right. Is it any wonder that sugar, along with salt, is among the ingredients most likely to raise our collective hackles and confusion? As someone who’s written, tested and edited recipes for years, I have been on the receiving end of nearly every question and criticism you can imagine about cooking and baking with sugar. Many are rooted in misconceptions about what exactly sugar does - or doesn’t do - in food.
Others revolve around the dizzying number of options available at the grocery store. A lot of the dialogue and disagreement has to do with health, and with good reason. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of Americans ages 2 and older exceed the recommendation that no more than 10% of their daily calories should come from added sugars.
And we know that weight gain, obesity , Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and tooth decay are among the health risks associated with excessive sugar consumption. As I’ve previously done with salt and baking in general, I’m tackling some of the most persistent myths to help you understand sugar, particularly.