Admittedly, powdered sugar, also known as confectioner’s sugar, isn’t one of those critical prep items. When we discuss the sugars in our pantries, we’re most often talking about granulated sugar, honey, and perhaps maple syrup or molasses. Some people don’t get into prepping as much as others, and as you know by now, I go all out. I want it all. I want a healthy, happy family and good food for all. So we store some powdered sugar here as well, about 3 pounds per person per year.
We use powdered sugar to garnish our favorite chocolate cake and sweeten and garnish Swedish pancakes. I use it to make frosting for birthday cakes and sugar cookies at Christmas.
About six years ago, I happened upon a killer deal on powdered sugar and bought about 50 pounds of it. At about half the price of granulated sugar, I thought I could use it in canning that season.
I thought wrong.
See, most commercially produced powdered sugar isn’t just sugar. It also has a little bit of cornstarch. And that makes a world of difference. While powdered sugar can safely be used in canning, the cornstarch will make the sugar syrup used in canning fruits cloudy. It doesn’t look quite so appetizing, and some people will mistake this cloudiness for spoilage.
Powdered sugar also should not be substituted for granulated sugar when air needs to be incorporated into the batter, like when the butter and sugar are supposed to be creamed together, as is often the case with cookies. It’s also not a good substitute for granulated when sweetening drinks like coffee or tea; powdered sugar leaves an odd aftertaste. For this same reason, it does not work well in the aquafaba Cool Whip substitute. And finally, it’s best not to substitute it in cooked sauces because the extra cornstarch may thicken the sauce too much.
Powdered sugar is best substituted for granulated in baked goods, particularly moist muffins and quick breads.
All of the preceding applies to commercially-produced powdered sugar. If you make your own from granulated sugar, it can be substituted for granulated without worry.
To make your own powdered sugar from granulated, simply whirl the granulated sugar in a food processor or blender until it is a fine powder. If you want your homemade powdered sugar to be just like store-bought, add 1 teaspoon cornstarch per cup of powdered sugar. Powdered sugar has almost double the volume of granulated sugar. So when you are replacing granulated sugar with powdered sugar, use a ratio of 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar for every cup of granulated sugar.
Powdered sugar is highly sensitive to moisture in the air and will clump easily. If keeping powdered sugar as clump-free as possible is important to you, only purchase powdered sugar in plastic bags. In a past life, I had a sideline business decorating wedding cakes. I never once sifted the powdered sugar from a freshly opened plastic bag of powdered sugar, and I never had any little clumps in my frosting.
Like sugar, powdered sugar can also be combined with povidone iodine to make sugardyne, an extremely effective antibacterial treatment for wounds.
Links to related posts:
References:
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-substitute-powdered-sugar-for-granulated-sugar/
https://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/ask-betty/answer/can-substitute-powdered-sugar-granulated-sugar/43d23e54-493e-5597-9b1e-c4c665e05f3f
4 december 2020
I wonder if it would work in my copycat international coffees recipes instead of regular sugar? hmmm....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information
regular granulated sugar can be ground in a mortar and pestle to powdered sugar. How much do you need for breakfast pancakes?
ReplyDelete