--- title: "Brown sugar: what it means in cooking — Tiny Plates" description: "Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses, moist and caramel-flavored. Here are light vs dark, UK soft brown and muscovado, and Swedish farinsocker." url: "https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/brown-sugar" --- # Brown sugar Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses, moist and caramel-flavored. Here are light vs dark, UK soft brown and muscovado, and Swedish farinsocker. Also called Light brown sugar, Dark brown sugar, Soft brown sugar, Farinsocker, Brun farin. Brown sugar is soft, moist sugar with a caramel or toffee flavor. Most brown sugar sold today is white sugar with some molasses (treacle in the UK) mixed back in. Light brown sugar has less molasses and a gentle taste. Dark brown sugar has more, with a deeper, slightly bitter flavor and more moisture. It makes cookies chewy and gives sauces and glazes color. ## Why it works Molasses holds on to water, so brown sugar keeps baked goods moist and soft for longer. It is also slightly acidic, which lets it react with [baking soda](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/baking-soda) to help a cookie rise and spread. The molasses also browns more quickly through [caramelization](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/caramelization) and other browning reactions, so brown sugar cookies go darker in the same time. ## How to use it The names change by country: * Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar in the US and Canada. * Soft light brown sugar and soft dark brown sugar in the UK and Ireland. Soft means the moist kind, as opposed to dry, crunchy demerara. * Muscovado, light or dark, is a less refined brown sugar with more natural molasses and a stronger flavor. It is sold in the UK, Australia and Sweden, and can stand in for brown sugar, with a richer result. * _Farinsocker_ or _brun farin_ in Sweden, which is close to light brown sugar. Darker Swedish recipes use _mörkt muscovadosocker_. American recipes measure brown sugar [packed](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/packed). A packed US [cup](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/cup) weighs about 210 to 220 g. If no type is named, use light. ## Substitutes * Light brown sugar: 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses. Mix with a fork until even. * Dark brown sugar: the same, with 2 tablespoons molasses. * In a pinch, white sugar works in most recipes. Cookies will be crisper and paler. ## How to store it Keep it in an airtight container. If it goes hard, put a slice of bread or a damp paper towel in the container overnight, or warm it for 20 seconds in the microwave with a cup of water beside it. ## Common mistakes * Measuring it loose in a cup. You get too little. * Swapping demerara for soft brown sugar in a cookie dough. The crystals do not dissolve the same way. * Leaving the bag open. It dries into a brick within days. ## In recipes You will see "1 cup packed light brown sugar", "100 g soft dark brown sugar" and "1 dl farinsocker". ## Recipes that use it 233 recipes from the sites we collect. * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/peanut-butter-banana-muffins-6.jpg)Peanut Butter Banana Muffinswww.skinnytaste.com · 40 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/low-fat-peanut-butter-banana-muffins/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Filipino-BBQ-Pork-Skewers-7.jpg)Filipino BBQ Pork Skewerswww.skinnytaste.com · 385 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/filipino-bbq-skewers-3-ww-pts/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Korean-Beef-Rice-Bowls-11.jpg)Korean Beef Bowl Recipewww.skinnytaste.com · 30 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/korean-beef-rice-bowls/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Broiled-Tilapia-with-Thai-Coconut-Curry-6.jpg)Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut Curry Saucewww.skinnytaste.com · 25 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/broiled-tilapia-with-thai-coconut-curry/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/sweet-potato-tandoori-salad.jpg)Kumara (Sweet Potato) Tandoori Saladwww.skinnytaste.com · 40 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/kumara-sweet-potato-tandoori-salad/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Shrimp-StirFry-12-1.jpg)Shrimp Stir Frywww.skinnytaste.com · 15 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/shrimp-stir-fry/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Chicken-Marbella-5.jpg)Chicken Marbella Recipewww.skinnytaste.com · 58 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/chicken-marbella/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Slow-Cooker-Banh-Mi-Bowl.jpg)Slow-Cooker Banh Mi Bowl Recipewww.skinnytaste.com · 375 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/slow-cooker-banh-mi-rice-bowls/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Pumpkin-Smoothie-8.jpg)Pumpkin Smoothiewww.skinnytaste.com · 5 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/pumpkin-smoothie/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Low-fat-Pumpkin-Spiced-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies.jpg)Pumpkin Spice Cookieswww.skinnytaste.com · 45 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/low-fat-pumpkin-spiced-chocolate-chip/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/PumpkinPie.jpg)Skinny Pumpkin Piewww.skinnytaste.com · 80 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/skinny-pumpkin-pie/) * [![](https://www.skinnytaste.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Apple-Turnovers-11.jpg)Apple Turnover Recipewww.skinnytaste.com · 70 min](https://www.skinnytaste.com/apple-turnover/) ## Related terms * [PackedPacked means pressing an ingredient firmly into the cup so there is no air. Recipes ask for it with brown sugar and fresh herbs. Here is how.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/packed) * [Superfine sugarSuperfine sugar is white sugar with very fine crystals that dissolve fast, ideal for meringues and sponges. In the UK it is called caster sugar.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/superfine-sugar) * [Golden syrupGolden syrup is a thick, amber sugar syrup with a buttery caramel taste, used in British flapjacks and tarts. Here is what to use in its place in the US.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/golden-syrup) * [CaramelizationCaramelization is the browning of sugar under heat, which turns it from plain sweet to rich, nutty and a little bitter. It is not the Maillard reaction.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/caramelization) * [CupA US cup is about 240 ml, a metric cup is 250 ml, and a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of sugar. Here is how to measure and convert.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/cup) * [Baking sodaBaking soda is sodium bicarbonate, a strong leavening that needs an acid to work. In the UK it is bicarbonate of soda, in Ireland bread soda.](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/baking-soda) [More in regional names](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary/category/regional-names)[Every term from A to Z](https://www.tinyplates.dev/glossary)