SUGAR AND SPICE

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 129, 2 June 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

SUGAR AND SPICE

OLD FLAVOURS. Everyone was so refined jn the nineteenth century that sugar had to bo refined too, losing most of its taste the while. Even now brown sugar, when asked for, is not that which has real sweetness and a certain tang, but a careful, crystallised variety which might as well be white for all the difference that it makes. The same thing applies to treacle, which, with a new complexion, has assumed angelic names and which glows yellowly in preference to a good rich black which had a bite in it. Brown sugar—the real kind—has some odd names. Barbados eane sugar may be asked for at most reputable grocers with some prospect of success. It is not too much crystallised and it has a certain dampness and sweetness which make it delicious in coffee, with such dishes as dumplings, and with batter puddings and the like. Many people like this brown sugar in milk puddings. Moderate brown sugar may be found even in small shops under the name of "pieces." There is also foot stigar. These kinds vary in hue from a pale sandy brown to a colour that is almost black. The blacker it is the stickier it seems to get. Besides being sweet there is a curious tang in this sugar which gives it character. Treacle has this tang to a much greater extent. Many people like the taste but do not like the colour. It is time that a batter pudding made with treacle comes out the colour of iodine. But the treacle is a real taste and gets away from the mere angelic sweetness of syrup. With both kinds of sugar and treacle there is some advantage in having a flavour that is so distinctive, and if the other kinds are preferred as a rule these at least lend so much variety that they almost constitute a different dish.