If you’ve ever had a recipe call for both brown and white sugar in the same recipe, you may wonder why you have to use both. Couldn’t you simply use one or the other and come out with the same product? After all, they’re both sugar, right? While they are both sugar, they do have different properties that affect the way you bake, whether you’re doing a batch of cookies or a delicious loaf of banana bread.

The Difference Between the Two

All sugars, both brown and white included, start as sap in tropical sugarcane plants. Those are crushed, and the juice is extracted. It is then heated, a process that yields molasses. That molasses contains very dark sugar crystals. Manufacturers spin that in a centrifuge, and the molasses is removed. The final product is white sugar.

White sugar comes in a number of different granule sizes, most people go with granulated white sugar. It’s also called table sugar. The granules inside that package are medium-sized, and almost every baked good recipe you’ll find calls for this type of sugar. When you heat this type of sugar, it browns to almost a toffee-color, and it has a similar flavor.

Brown sugar can be purchased in a variety of colors ranging from light to dark brown. The flavor here is very strong, and it seems soft and moist right out of the package. Decades ago, brown sugar was simply white sugar before all of the molasses was taken out. These days, though, brown sugar is white sugar where the molasses has been added back into the mix. The darker the sugar, the more molasses in the package.

Are they Interchangeable in Baking?

In most cases, you can use brown and white sugar interchangeably, but you may notice a real difference in the texture of your baked goods. Remember that brown sugar is naturally moister, so you can bet that your baked goods with be a bit softer and moister as well. What’s more is that your baked goods may come out slightly darker than you’d expected if you use brown sugar instead of the more traditional white. The level of sweetness in your baked goods, though, won’t change even if you use them interchangeably.

For years, many have believed the urban legend that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar, but that’s simply not the case. The amount of nutrients in the molasses added back to the sugar is miniscule, so you’re not actually getting a healthier product. Moreover, though, these days, the molasses is added back in to make brown sugar, so you’re actually getting a more refined product than you were initially.

If you do wish to substitute brown sugar for white sugar while you’re baking, there are several things you may want to do. First, remember, brown sugar contains more moisture, so you may need to decrease other wet ingredients in your recipe or increase some of your dry ingredients to compensate. Second, think carefully about texture. If you’re trying to bake a cake, you want it to be fairly dry, so stay with a white sugar. If you’re doing a fruit quick bread like a banana or a zucchini bread, you may want a moist, rich texture, so brown sugar can be the perfect way to go.

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Pinkchic18 is a writer who enjoys baking and serving delicious desserts. She also writes regularly for the Cookie Gift Baskets Blog, where you can find wonderful ideas for cookies for kids.

Baking has revived itself in recent years. Cupcakes and cake pops have become fashionable and have re-ignited the baking craze. A lot of people have also taken to make their own baking businesses from home. Yet without the correct equipment your baking ambitions can soon crumble. Here are the top ten must have baking essentials to get you started:

Digital scales – According to the Hummingbird bakery – “Baking is an exact process and using the right equipment is essential. Even a slight deviation from the recipe amounts can make a massive difference to the final bake.”

As baking is an exact science, digital scales are the top must have gadget to ensure accuracy and consistency. The right ingredients are essential to the bakes taste and texture, as over or undoing an ingredient can have disastrous consequences. It’s vital to get the ingredients right from the offset before any decoration or anything else can go into the mix. A digital scale will help you to improve your cooking, whether you’re a professional or not. If you are in the bread making business, the digital scale is a useful tool as every piece of bread must have a standard net weight.

Electric mixer - Essentially an electric mixer takes all the hard work out of baking. Beating, mixing and stirring can become tiring, especially if you have a big batch to do. An electric mixer combines all the ingredients in a time saving way. It allows you to control the exact level of thickness of the mix. Also if you need to get perfectly smooth frosting for decoration, this is a must have.

Bake ware set- Cake pans, muffin pans, cooling racks and pizza pans are all vital for being able to bake your desired goods. It’s important the right pan is used, as when you’re following a recipe they are written with exact dimensions in mind. When items are placed on a solid surface it traps the heat and steam within them. This causes the product to become soggy underneath. A cooling rack will prevent this by keeping heat away from the surface.

Mixing bowls - These are a key staple as they are great for whisking eggs, mixing batter and combining ingredients for your bake mixture.

Silicon spatulas/silicone cupcake molds –Silicone spatulas are great for decorating and frosting cakes. Rather than scraping the sides of a mixing bowl, the silicone spatula will lift up any bit of mixture in an instant. Silicone cupcake molds are cost effective as they can be reused time and time again.

Marble Rolling Pin – These rolling pins remain cold so don’t transfer any heat to the dough. Dough can easily break away with heat input from the rolling pin so this is a must have.

Kitchen Timer – This is vital when starting out baking as it will keep your cooking on track and prevent your bake from burning.

This article was brought to you by http://www.atp-instrumentation.co.uk/ who provide measurement equipment including digital weighing scales for food preparation.

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There is arguably no greater sense of fulfillment attainable in life than the one derived from enjoying the fruits of one’s own labor.  And when the fruits of your labor happen to be five gallons of high-quality, handcrafted, delicious microbrew beer; well, lets just say that victory has never tasted so sweet.

For anyone who enjoys their tipple, you’ve no doubt pondered over the possibilities of making your own. Sure it takes time, but, then again, all good things do come to those who wait. Here’s everything you need to know about producing your own microbrew beer.

Before you Begin

First, you’ll need a few things:

• A digital scale for measuring ingredients.
• A large pot capable of holding at least three gallons of water without boiling over.  This will be your brew pot.
• A strainer, the bigger the better, for removing hops and grain prior to fermentation
• One large funnel
• Bottled water in three gallon plastic container (for fermenting)
• A second container of 3 gallons or more (either a second empty water bottle or a scratchless, sanitized bucket)
• 3-4 ft of 3/8″ clear poly-vinyl tubing
• Bottles and a bottle capper

You can easily purchase all of these items at your local hardware store, but you will definitely want to look into some of the options on the market for homebrewing starter kits.  They come outfitted with everything you will need, and often the containers and specialized accessories will smooth things along and help ensure better sanitation (a key factor in brewing).

Next, you need to get the organic ingredients for your beer.  For this, you’ll need to visit your neighborhood homebrew supply shop, or do some online ordering, and pick up a container of malt extract and a package of brewers yeast.  You will also need a cup or two of ordinary sugar.  The amounts of each ingredient vary depending on the type of beer you want to make, and some recipes call for additional ingredients like hops or crystal malt. So hunt down a recipe online that fits your personal tastes to determine the exact quantities you will need and whether or not there are any special additions to be included.

TIP:

Use a digital scale to measure ingredients and maintain consistency between multiple batches.  Measuring ingredients by weight with a digital scale is preferred because it is much more accurate than measuring by volume.

Step 1: Sanitize

Sanitation is probably the single most important factor in the brewing process, so be thorough.  Wash all of your equipment with warm soapy water, and sterilize with a solution of 1 tsp bleach diluted in 1 gallon of water.  Rinse thoroughly.  Also, a good tip if you are using a new plastic container, is to rinse it out with a solution of water and baking soda to remove that lingering plastic taste.

Step 2: Boiling

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Now pour 2.5 gallons of your bottled water into the brew pot.  Make sure there is plenty of room left in the pot to avoid a boil over!  Stir in your malt extract, and boil for one hour.  As it boils, dunk in your strainer for about 15 minutes to sanitize it for later use.  When the hour is up, submerse the pot into an ice bath in the sink and allow it to cool until the sides of the pot are chilled.  The faster you can get it cool the better, but you need not stress too much; it will take time.  Now you have what is called wort (unfermented beer).

Step 3: Preparing for Fermentation

Using the strainer and the funnel, pour your cooled wort into your fermenting bottle, straining out everything but the liquid.  Because some of the water will have boiled off, add more to the solution until you have 2.5 gallons of liquid again.  Now add in your brewing yeast, and stir thoroughly until it is dissolved.

At this point you will need to seal the container, in such a way that carbon dioxide can escape without letting in any outside air.  Most brewing kits come with simple airlocks for this purpose, but if you went without the kit just use a small length of tubing and a glass of water to serve the purpose.  Drill a hole in the lid of your container, secure the tube tightly in the hole so that air can’t escape, and put the other end in water.  This way gas can bubble off of the yeast without any air entering.

Step 4: Wait 7-10 Days

This one is easy.  Just keep your batch in a dark place for a week and try to contain your excitement.

Step 5: Carbonation Priming

At this point you will have flat beer.  The sugars in the malt have been converted to CO2 and alcohol, but we’ve allowed the CO2 to seep out through the air lock.  We will need more sugar to produce carbonation, so boil together 3/8 cup of corn sugar with one cup of water for five minutes and pour it into your large sanitized container.  Then siphon your beer into the new container on top of the sugar, being sure not to stir up too much of the sediment on the bottom of the tank.  Now you are ready for bottling.

Step 6: Bottling

Finally, it is time to bottle your beer.  The best idea is to use brown glass bottles with metal pry-off tops, but you can also get creative here if you like and, for example reuse champagne bottles or old soda bottles, just make sure that your cap seals securely enough to contain the carbonation and that the bottles are thoroughly sanitized in a bleach/water solution beforehand.  Siphon or pour the beer into the bottles, cap them, and store the case in a cool dark place again for another 10 days.  During this time, the yeast will further ferment, the alcohol content of your beer will increase, and it will become carbonated.

Step 7: Drink!

Woo-hoo!  By far the best step of all.  It is time to enjoy your beer.  Chill and serve.

Happy brewing beer lovers! Oh, and one last thing as a word to the wise: whatever you do, don’t let your brew boil over during step two.  Your wife may never forgive you.

When they’re not enjoying a good drink at the end of a hard days work, Policy Expert offer guidance and advice on building, contents and other areas of home insurance.

Browse digital scales for homebrewing

When using a digital scale it is common to want to use your own plate or bowl to hold the things you are weighing.  The only issue with that is the extra weight that will be measured because of your plate or bowl.  What can you do?

The Solution

All Escali digital kitchen scales come with a Tare Feature.  Pressing the Tare button (which is sometimes labeled Zero) will reset the displayed weight on the scale back to zero.

The Tare button can also be used to measure multiple items in the same container.  Simply add you first item, note the weight, press Tare, and you are ready to weigh your next item.  This process can be repeated until you reach the maximum capacity of your digital scale.

Be Careful!

No matter how many times you press the tare button, the maximum capacity of your digital scale will not change.  It is possible to overload your digital scale without knowing it because of the hidden weight that has been zeroed out from using the tared feature.  To prevent this many digital scales will limit the amount of weight you can tare to approximately 10% of the scale’s maximum capacity.

A Hidden Trick…

There is a short cut to using the Tare Feature on Escali Scales.  Simply place your container on the scale before you turn it on and the scale will automatically subtract the weight of your container without you having to press any buttons.

Video Demo

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Everyone measures a cup of flour differently.  Some people tend to pack it in tighter than others or aren’t as careful about ensuring a full and level cut across the top of the measuring cup.  These variations in your recipe may seem harmless, but in the world of baking they can be disastrous.

Fortunately, the Escali Pana Baker’s Scale is designed to help you, the baker, with precise measurements for professional results every time! It is a unique product that combines the accuracy of a digital scale with the convenience of cups and tablespoons.

Plus, the Pana will cut down on clean up by eliminating the need for most measuring utensils. The scale’s tare feature will allow you to mix multiple ingredients in one bowl while still measuring them individually as if they were alone.

For a better understanding of how the Pana can help you, watch this demo:

Get your own Pana Baker’s Scale now.

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Are you feeling frustrated from your diet and exercise plan?  Have you been pushing yourself to lose weight for a while now and you are just not seeing the results on your bathroom scale?  Consider this…

You may be losing body fat, but at the same time you may also be gaining muscle mass! The two can seem to offset themselves and for a while it may appear that you are not losing any fat despite your hard work.

The best way to stay motivated and avoid this common frustration is to use a body weight scale that will measure your body fat percentage.  Body fat measuring bath scales are affordable and provide a unique view of your body’s composition to help you better understand your health.

Start measuring your body fat percentage now!

Disclaimer:  The Escali Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. more

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Too often we are reactive to our bathroom scales.

We see the number creeping up and up, and eventually we decide that enough is enough.  It may remind you of the boiling frog metaphor…  If you throw a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out.  If you throw that same frog in cool water and slowly bring it to a boil, the frog will stay put.  Eventually, the frog succumbs to the boiling water without moving a muscle.

While you’re certainly no frog, there are some parallels.

Obesity kills, and according to the CDC 2 in 3 American adults (age 20+) are either overweight or obese. Most people would attribute their weight gain to years of poor eating habits and lack of exercise, which leads to dieting.  Over 23% of Americans (2009) are on a diet at any given time and spend roughly $60 billion dollars a year on weight loss related products, according to the market research & analysis firm Market Data Enterprises.  Unfortunately, most diets fail which leads to a lot of wasted time, money and disappointed dieters.

What’s the take away?

Dieting is expensive and difficult, unreliable and not something you would wish upon your worst enemy. Right?  So, why put your self in a position where you have to go on a diet?  Instead of being reactionary be proactive with your weight management. Use portion control to keep from overeating and gaining weight that you will eventually want to lose.

Be proactive, check out our portion control scales.

Need a bath scale anyways?  Check them out here.

Disclaimer:  The Escali Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. more

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You may not be a professional mountain climber training to climb Kilimanjaro or a marathoner preparing for a three day desert run, but you could still benefit from fueling your body right to maximize your workout results. Losing weight is simple: eat fewer calories than you burn but enough to maintain energy levels for exercise. What you eat before, during and after a workout plays an enormous role in your endurance level, how quickly you recover, and if a calorie turns into fat or burns efficiently.

Before a workout

Hydration is just as vital as food prior to a workout. Make sure to drink 16-20 ounces of water in the hour or two before you exercise. Whether or not you eat before your workout is up to you. Some people like to start the day off with a run and the idea of food early in the morning can be unappetizing. Since your body mostly runs off of stored carbohydrates and not your last meal, it is perfectly acceptable not to eat prior to exercise. There are two recommended food options for those easily affected by low blood sugar or plan an intense and long workout. About half an hour before you train eat a small 100 calorie snack of something that digests easily: a smoothie, a piece fruit or an energy bar are a few ideas. The second food option is eating a larger meal about two hours prior to working out. The larger meal should contain about half the calories you plan to burn.

During a workout

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During a workout, the best thing you can do is stay hydrated. Remember to drink between a half cup to a cup of water in 15 minute intervals. Water is key to your cooling system. Depending on your size and how hot it is where you are, you may need to drink more than the recommend amount. If you are exercising longer than an hour, a sports drink is an excellent option to stay hydrated and provide you with carbohydrates for energy.

After a workout

Right after a workout is an ideal time to get some protein into your body and help muscles repair themselves. Protein shakes are popular but unnecessary. Protein from peanut butter, an egg or a glass of milk will work just as well as an expensive shake. Plan to eat your snack within half an hour of working out because your body will use it most efficiently in that time frame. Always remember to drink after you work out to replace the water that you lost. Following these easy guidelines of how to eat before, during, and after a workout will help you get the most out of your workout.

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