Are Cane Juice and Raw Sugar the Same as White Sugar?

I am again attempting to find out at which steps of the sugar refining process we get these products. Also, what is their nutritional value?

• Evaporated Cane Juice
• Cane Juice
  
• Organic Sugar
• Turbinado
• Raw Sugar
• Molasses

I posted something about this earlier in the year, but I want even more details, from more sources. The cold, hard facts. I can not get the best information from any source that is selling something. Unfortunately, I am having a difficult time finding this information elsewhere!

I have many people asking why I don't eat some of the above listed sugars. I do eat molasses. A naturopathic doctor once recommended that I eat one tablespoon of molasses a day. I was eating vegan then. I haven't touched the other sugars all year because I believe they are much more refined products of sugar cane/sugar beet than molasses. Molasses is full of iron and other vitamins and minerals. You really can't overeat the stuff--it's so strong! It makes a wonderful sweetener, especially in my favorite gingersnap cookies.

I think that the other sugars listed are advertising "gimmicks" to get us health-concious folks to think a product is okay. I really don't believe that there is a big difference between white table sugar and evaporated cane juice, cane juice, raw sugar and turbinado. If the differences are microscopic, then I think they hardly count. I think the differences should be as obvious as molasses compared to white table sugar. If there are "trace" amounts of nutrition in cane juice or turbinado, does that really make it healthy?

The research that I am looking for is harder to find than I thought. All I want is a chart that shows the sugar refining process, with these different sugars listed at the point at which they are a final product. Ideally, these different sugar products would then be charted according to their nutrition. Do these charts exist? I've looked on both sugar websites and "anti-sugar" websites.

Wikipedia apparently agrees with me, "Evaporated cane juice is used more widely across the globe and is gaining currency as a euphemism for refined white sugar." I think "euphemism" is a loose term, and definitely not a scientific term, but nevertheless...

I'm finding the same thing on most websites, "[Evaporated cane juice] may also be known by a variety of other names including dried cane juice, crystallized cane juice, milled cane sugar and direct consumption sugar."(1)

If you've heard of Sunspire Natural Chocolates, they also have something to say about raw sugar, "Raw sugar is coarse, tan to brown-colored sugar (sucrose) which results from the first processing of cane or beet sugar. True "raw sugar" cannot be sold in the USA because it contains impurities such as soil, mold yeast, bacteria, and wax. When further processed to remove the impurities it is sold as turbinado sugar."(2)

Here is an interesting perspective written by Nutritionist Vimlan VanDien, "One hundred grams of dried cane juice is pretty much the same thing as 100 grams of other sweeteners, no matter what you call it," says Vimlan VanDien, a nutritionist at the respected Bastyr University, in Seattle, Washington. "When people call these sugars something other than sugar, it's deceptive in a way if the market is uninformed. Because dehydrated cane juice is sugar. It simply sounds like a whole food."

VanDien feels that calling these sweeteners something other than what they are is a way that some consumers can sugarcoat their consciences too.

"To a certain extent," she explains, "when people buy products with so-called alternative sweeteners, it gives them an excuse to eat sugar. They'll say, Oh, it's organic, so it's O.K.' Or, It's a whole food.' But it's not whole food. If you wanted the whole food, you'd go out in the field and eat the sugar cane, and get all the fiber and nutrients it has." (3)

I found a sugar refining website (4) that talks about the process of sugar refining, but leaves out when the various sugar products are produced. The sugar refining process is very interesting to me. It reminds me that sugar is in no way a whole food. What once was a beautiful green sugar cane (sold at open markets in Hawaii and fun to chew on) ends up an embarrassed little pile of tiny white, nutrition-less crystals.

Ah, I should write a children's book about the sugar refining process from the sugar cane's point of view. Poor guy.


(1) (-http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=120)
(2) (http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/nspired/sunspire/faq.d2w/report#gsweet)
(3) (http://organicanews.com/news/article.cfm?story_id=23)
(4) (http://www.refinedsugar.org/)

Healthy Dark Chocolate Fudge

This fudge is amazing, and I don't like fudge. I was a little hesitant to use my expensive, high quality ingredients on a practice run, but after looking closely at the ingredients, how could this recipe be anything but wonderful? For those of you sweet-a-holics who haven't kicked your sugar habit yet, keep in mind that although the flavor of this fudge is intoxicating, it is not very sweet. It is definitely sweet enough for me, but the average fudge you would buy at a bake sale is much, much sweeter and perhaps why I don't care for regular fudge.

I would almost label this fudge gourmet. The ingredients are not cheap, and the taste is absolutely exquisite. Someone sent me the recipe, but like I usually do, I altered the ingredients a bit. I froze it overnight and this morning wandered sleepy-eyed to the freezer in anticipation. In combination with my dark roast coffee, the fudge was the most elegant taste sensation I've ever experienced so early in my day. Here is the catch...it's healthy. Check out the ingredients and see for yourself. The original recipe I received did not call for any sweeteners. I halved the coconut oil portion and added some brown rice syrup instead. This recipe is quick and easy and worth the expensive ingredients.

(DISCLAIMER: I repeat, this fudge may only be delicious to those whose palates have given up white sugar. People who are still addicted to sugar have tried it and many think it is much too bitter...and it is, for their sweet tooth. Just a caution for those of you who still need your treats excessively sweet. For those of you who have kicked the white sugar habit, I have confidence that you will enjoy!)

Gourmet Dark Chocolate Fudge
1 C. almond meal (or grind your own almonds in a food processor)
1/4 C. organic, virgin coconut oil, melted (put the coconut oil jar in a glass of hot water for easy melting)
1/4 C. brown rice syrup
1 C. pure cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 C. raisins, soaked
5-6 tblsp. water from raisin soak

Place raisins in small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak 5-10 minutes. Do not drain. Spoon out the raisins and save the water for later.

Get your blender or food processor ready and add: almond meal, coconut oil, brown rice syrup, cocoa powder and vanilla. Blend well. Add raisins and a couple tablespoons of water from soak. Blend again. Add enough water to get your desired consistency. Mixture should be thick like cookie dough and may have to be stirred intermittently and then re-blended until smooth.

Transfer to small glass pie pan, pressing down to get an even layer. Refrigerate or freeze.

Grab your partner or call a friend, make a pot of coffee and enjoy with a piece of fudge!

Sugar Free in Victoria, BC!

Victoria, BC will forever hold sweet, sweet memories for me and my sweet, sweet tooth. Before we left for a weekend vacation there, I told my husband that I only had to give up sugar in my home country. Every place we traveled to internationally would be a free for all. I was going to sneak in all the international goodies my tummy could take. I imagined eating all sorts of fudge sundae's, donuts and other fresh baked pastries in Victoria's popular downtown. Of course I was kidding myself. I don't think it's possible for me to eat any sugar this year. I like to pretend that I am about to indulge in something bad. But I'll never do it. My husband knows it, but everybody else gets really quiet and nervous when I tell them I'm about to break my New Year's resolution, as if it will somehow be their fault. It's a little sick and twisted, but then again, so is going without sugar. How un-American!

We found an incredible restaurant in Victoria, called the Green Cuisine. I had done some research before we left for our trip, and this restaurant came up several times and had great reviews. It is basically a vegan buffet; a very casual cafe type atmosphere at the edge of Market Square. I was hoping for a selection of baked goodies.....and baked goodies is what I got! The Green Cuisine had two glass cases full of baked goods, complete with ingredient listings by each one. I had to read the ingredients carefully because some of the goodies contained "organic sugar" and "cane juice", but most of the goodies were sweetened with all natural sweeteners. We were in Victoria for two nights and three days. I visited the Green Cuisine twice, which wasn't enough! Each time, however, I filled a bag with different baked goodies: rice sweetened rice crispy bar, oatmeal raisin cookie, raw hemp/nut ball, apricot square and a raw, sesame seed "Earth Ball". The restaurant sells cookbooks which contains all of the recipes they use, but I opted to wait on buying it. I have so many wonderful cookbooks that I already ignore. I did write down a couple of recipes, though, while eating my lunch. My favorite foods there were: tofu lasagna, sweet navy beans, Jamaican rice, and the olive potato pie! I probably ate too much, but it was a treat to have this many healthy foods available, all with their ingredient listings at the buffet bar. Both times I went in to the restaurant, there was a steady flow of people. It seemed to be a favorite place for tourists and residents to eat.

As a funny side note, I committed a Canadian etiquette faux pax. I was determined to study their etiquette before we left on our trip, basically in an effort to be polite. What I read is that Quebec is a province in which etiquette is very important, but that the BC area has loosened up on their etiquette, though they still maintain more proper etiquette than Americans.

It was mid-afternoon when my husband and I found ourselves lingering around the harbour in front of a giant, elegant stone hotel. From the small rocky beach in front of the hotel we were able to take great photographs of the float planes taking off and landing. We were sharing our camera and when he had it, I found myself digging around my large jacket pocket for the bag of Green Cuisine pastries I had stashed inside. I distinctly remember walking around nibbling on my oatmeal raisin cookie, when all of a sudden, I had a flashback of what I had read about Canadian etiquette: "Eating while walking or standing on the street in Quebec is considered bad form." Okay, we were not in Quebec, but still... "Oh my gosh!" I thought to myself, as I looked around to see if anyone was watching. No one seemed to be too put out by my cookie, but I nevertheless shoved it back into my pocket for later. I was so embarrassed, even though I'm pretty sure they are pretty laid back about things of this nature. I even asked two different employees at the Butchart Gardens if it would be rude of me to walk around holding my hot cup of coffee. The answer both times was "absolutely not!"

While I'm on the subject of international foibles, another funny thing happened at Sushi Plus, a hole-in-the-wall, well-priced, deliciously fresh, sushi restaurant. As we took care of the bill up front, the lady behind the counter asked me if we were here on holiday. I said, "No, we are just here on a little vacation." For those of you who don't know, Canadian's say holiday in place of vacation. Jeff told me this once we were outside and we laughed so hard!

In closing, thank you to: Green Cuisine, Sushi Plus, Demitasse, Mirage Coffee, Serious Coffee, Irish Times, Siam Thai, the Mint, La Vita Bella (Seattle) and Zeitgeist (Seattle), for feeding us!

Washington DC and Why Vegans Eat More Sugar Than Meat-Eaters

It is possible to travel and not consume sugar! I've eaten at the same restaurant in Washington, DC three days in a row. "Big Buns" restaurant gives you the option of having your meat or fish on a bun (NO!) or in a salad bowl (YES!). Miraculously enough, the garlic herb hot sauce had no sugar either! I've hit a couple of grocery stores for fruit and while we were in New York, I bought fruit off the street. While I have been pretty alert and active, I have witnessed those around me (you know who you are!) crash immediately after a sugar rush from: donuts, milkshakes, mochas, brownies, ice cream, etc. Last night at Old Ebbots, a classic restaurant one block from the White House, I watched three hungry people devour two gigantic desserts. I sat and chewed on ice cubes, feeling slightly left out, but also very happy that I have gotten to this point. I was truly happy for the taste sensations of others, while maintaining balanced blood sugar.

One strange result of not eating sugar but getting coffee in the morning, is that I have to order milk for my latte, and not soy. Most soy milk that coffee shops use have cane juice, sugar, etc. I don't like milk but I must have my coffee and/or latte in the morning! I am concluding that vegans and vegetarians must, by default, consume more sugar, strictly because the milk and meat alternatives mostly all have sugar! This is a serious fault in the so-called "health-food" industry. Now that I think about it, I've had to search quite hard for alternative milk products that don't have sugar, and I have had to give up on tofu hot dogs, processed vegan chicken products, and my favorite product made by Gardenburger: Vegetarian BBQ Ribs, dripping with sugar-laden barbeque sauce. That was my favorite!