Sugars vs Sweeteners

Whether you're baking a cake, sweetening your coffee, or looking for a sugar alternative, we've got you sorted. It can be a little daunting trying to delve into the natural sweetener/sugar-free world when there are so many options, so we thought we’d try to break it down for you into three sections - Cane Sugars, Alternative Sweeteners and Sugar Substitutes.

Number 1 is Cane Sugars

These come from the sugar cane plant, but the difference between them all is how much processing they've been through. We stock them in bulk so you can grab what you need without all the packaging.

Rapadura is about as natural as it gets—it's pure dried sugarcane juice with all the molasses left in. That's what gives it that deep caramel flavour and rich brown colour, plus it keeps trace minerals like iron and potassium.

Raw sugar has had a bit of processing but still has molasses in there, which gives it that light golden colour. Great for everyday stuff like your coffees.

Brown sugar is actually refined white sugar with the molasses added back in. The amount of molasses determines whether it's light or dark brown sugar.

White sugar is fully refined—all the molasses has been stripped out during processing, leaving you with pure sucrose.

Caster sugar is just white sugar that's been ground finer, so it dissolves faster!

We also sell Pearled Sugar and Icing Sugar, but basically the further down this list you go, the more processed it gets—from rapadura's barely-touched state right through to heavily processed icing sugar.

You'll also find things like Demerara, Turbinado, and Muscovado out there—these all sit somewhere between rapadura and brown sugar, each with varying molasses content. We don't stock these specifically, but if you're after something similar, our rapadura, raw or brown sugar will do the job.

Number 2 is Alternative Sweeteners

These are sweeteners that come from things other than sugar cane. Pretty straightforward!

Coconut Sugar - a customer favourite thanks to it's rich caramel flavour.

This category includes things like:

• Coconut Sugar

• Honey 

• Maple Syrup 

• Rice Malt Syrup

• Agave syrup

• Date Molasses

  
  

They all have their own unique flavour and work differently in recipes depending on how much moisture they add and how sweet they are. We stock all of these ones, either in bulk or by the jar!

Number 3 is Sugar Substitutes

These come from less common sources and behave quite differently to regular sugar, but are usually considered substitutes for baking purposes. 

Xylitol comes from birch trees or corn. It tastes really similar to regular sugar but has about 40% fewer calories and a much lower glycemic index, which is why people use it for diabetic-friendly baking. Big warning though: it's toxic to dogs, so keep it far away from your pets!

Erythritol is made by fermenting glucose with yeast. Almost zero calories, zero impact on blood sugar, though it's only about 70% as sweet as sugar. Works well in baking but can have a bit of a cooling effect on your tongue (strange, we know!).

Stevia comes from the stevia plant and is very sweet—a little bit goes a really long way. This one we sell in small containers (in powder or liquid form) as we only like the concentrates. If you buy a big bag of Stevia, chances are it will have a distinct bitter taste that pretty much ruins whatever you put it in! Our concentrates do not have this same flavour.

Allulose is a naturally occurring rare sugar that is super new to us. Your body doesn't metabolize it, making it almost calorie-free with no blood sugar impact, AND it still tastes and bakes like real sugar. It usually occurs in tiny amounts in fruits, but has recently become available as a commercial sugar substitute, which we think is awesome.

Now, when figuring out which one to use, you can go down a few different paths. For everyday use any of our cane sugars will be a great option, it just depends on what flavour profile you’re after. Or, if you're managing blood sugar, following a specific diet, or just want to cut down on sugar, our substitutes and sweeteners give you heaps of options. 

They all behave a bit differently, so just have a chat with us and we can definitely help point you in the right direction!