In the August/September 2005 issue of Citizens’ Companion, there was an article on sugar in the nineteenth century. Due to the length of the article, there was not room to include the accompanying glossary of sugar types, terms, liquid sweetenings, and non-cane types of sweetening. The easiest way to provide the glossary was to present it on our web page.
Although the glossary is informative in itself, in order to have the full benefit, one should also read the article on sugar. If you are not a subscriber to Citizens’ Companion and wish to obtain the article, please contact the publisher at:
Citizens’ Companion
1609 W. 1st N. St.
Morristown, TN 37814
or call 1-800-624-0281
We hope that you find the glossary useful and if you have questions, please feel free to contact us at mmescher1@cox.net
This document is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form, including printed or electronic, whether for fee or gratis, without the written permission of the author, Virginia Mescher.
GLOSSARY OF SUGAR, SYRUPS AND OTHER SWEETENERS
Sugar is not a simple product nor is it simply sugar. The “sweet stuff” takes many forms and sometimes the various names for sugar can be confusing. Below are definitions and descriptions of many of those forms as well as modern substitutes that may be used in a living history situation. Also included are directions for making sugar loaves that may be used or ones that are for display only. A number of kinds of sugar were mentioned in period store ledgers, newspaper advertisements, and diary entries. Some of those variations seen were barley, brown, clarified, coffee, crushed, granulated, Havana, loaf sugar, Muscovado, New Orleans, powdered, double and triple refined sugar, and sugar-candy, as well as different types of molasses and syrups. All these forms of sugar and syrups are sweet, but refer to the amount of refining or processing needed to produce a specific type of sugar or syrup. Below are definitions of the terms which are listed in alphabetical order.
In the nineteenth century there are many names given to different forms and types of sugar but some of those terms are unfamiliar or a that particular type of sugar doesn’t exist any longer. It is sometimes difficult to understand the differences and may create some confusion in research. Below is a glossary of the various types and names of sugars, liquid sweetenings and non-sugar sweeteners. [Note: The prices quoted were taken from miscellaneous primary sources dating between 1852 through 1861.]
BARLEY SUGAR — This was a type of sugar candy where sugar was dissolved in barley water (water in which barley had been soaked), slightly flavored with lemon, and boiled until the syrup reached the hard crack stage (295º - 310º). After reaching the correct temperature, the syrup was poured on a stone slab, cooled, rolled into cylinders and twisted into sticks that were hard, clear, and tan-colored. These were sold as stick candy or “penny candy” or made into candy toys. As early as 1638, it was made into clear candy toys which were in forms of fruits, animals, dolls, toys, and sewing tools. Some were left a natural pale tan and others were colored green or red, but the flavor was the same as the natural.
BROWN SUGAR — The term brown sugar could refer to Muscovado sugar, unwashed Demerara or centrifugal sugar. Brown sugar sold about thirteen cents per pound.
CASTER or CASTOR SUGAR — Another name for superfine sugar. The term was derived from the fineness of the grains in order to pass through the holes of a sugar caster.
CLARIFIED SUGAR — This term referred to the cleaning of sugar, whether it was performed in the refinery or at home. It was part of the process of refining sugar but homemakers frequently needed to clarify sugar at home to remove the impurities and adulterants from both brown sugar and refined sugar. Instructions for the process were often included in cookbooks or magazines such as Godey’s. The June 1862 issue contained such directions. “To Clarify Sugar — Take the quantity of fine white loaf-sugar you intend to clarify, add to it of very clean warm water half a pint for every pound; when dissolved, add to it the white of one or two eggs — as the quantity may require — well whipped, put it on the fire, and when it comes to a boil, pour into it an ordinary teacupful of cold water; on its rising again to a boil, remove it, and let it settle for twenty minutes; skim the scum from the top, pour off the syrup into a clean vessel with sufficient quickness to leave all the sediment at the bottom, and such steadiness as to prevent any of the latter rising and mixing with it.” If dry sugar was required, the syrup must be agitated in order for the sugar to recrystallize which then must be dried. Instructions for clarifying sugar appeared in cookbooks as late as 1908.
CLAYED SUGAR — The second refining step in production of a sugar loaf which entailed placing a layer of pipe-clay over sugar in the mold and slowly pouring water through the clay. As the water drained through the sugar the molasses and impurities were removed.
COFFEE SUGAR — The term referred to a yellow sugar processed by either the vacuum or centrifugal method if it was not further cleaned. The crystals were usually larger than those of loaf sugar. Coffee sugar sold for thirteen cents per pound.
CRUSHED SUGAR — Crushed sugar was refined from an inferior grade of raw sugar. It was cleaned through an animal charcoal filtration system and was the product of the first crystallization process after raw sugar was produced. By 1872, a centrifugal was used and was not liquored, as was the loaf sugar. It was pale tan in color and was packed in barrels for retail sale. The sugar hardened in the barrel and was sold in lump form from the barrel or as coarse grindings from the store-keeper’s sugar mill. If a finer grained sugar was desired, furthering crushing was done at home with a roller or mortar and pestle. As late as 1887, cookbooks were instructing the housewife to make sure that sugar used for cakes should be rolled and sifted. The cost of crushed sugar was about seventeen cents per pound.
CUT SUGAR — The term given to slices from large sugar loaves. Introduced around 1840, these slices or tablets were priced by the pound and sold as individual slices.
DEMERARA SUGAR — This type of sugar was made by the vacuum process which was developed in 1812. It was light tan in color and could be either molded in loaves for a whiter sugar, or packed in barrels as darker sugar. Also called brown sugar, coffee sugar, second, or yellow sugar. Demerara sugar is still available in some speciality stores.
FOOTS — This was the term for the sticky and dirty residual sugar at the bottom of a barrel of Muscovado sugar; it also contained contaminants such as insects. This was the lowest grade of sugar and therefore was cheaper than Muscovado.
GRANULATED WHITE SUGAR — It is difficult to establish a specific date for the introduction of granulated sugar in the United States, but there is evidence that it was sold in stores as early as the 1850's. The Grocer’s Hand-Book, written in 1883 described the process for granulating sugar, stating that was strictly an American style of sugar and was first made by the Boston Sugar Refinery in 1853. The sale of prepackaged sugar was not common until 1898 when Arbuckle Brothers Coffee Company packaged granulated sugar into family-sized bags. In 1900, granulated sugar was first packed in boxes by the American Sugar Refining Company, under the name of Domino.®
There was a push in the late nineteenth century to persuade the American public to accept white sugar as the best and stop using the cheaper brown sugar. To increase the sales of white sugar, a 1898 advertisement warned the public of infestations of an insect that lived only in raw sugar. With this advertising ploy and the lowering of the price of white sugar, its sales soared and remains the most popular today.
GROUND SUGAR — This item was loaf sugar that had been ground into a coarse powder at the refiners. Even though it was sold in stores, some cookbooks warned consumers that it was often adulterated. New Receipts for Cooking stated, “If you use such white sugar as is bought already powdered, you must have half a pound as that sugar has very little strength, being now adulterated with ground starch.” This sugar cost about sixteen cents per pound.
HAVANA OR CUBA SUGAR — In loaf form, this light tan sugar was refined using the claying process and was produced in Havana, Cuba. Some primary sources indicate that Havana sugar was of a higher quality than New Orleans sugar, but others state that it was of low quality and only one step above Muscovado sugar. A fairly good substitute for Havana sugar is milled natural cane sugar, which has a small crystalline structure and a slight molasses flavor. For the nineteenth century demonstrations, it should be dampened and formed into a loaf shape. [See sugar loaf instructions.]
LISBON SUGAR — Lisbon sugar was another name for clayed sugar.
LOAF SUGAR — One of the most highly refined sugars it was formed into loaves or cones. It was referred to as white sugar, but was actually a very pale tan color. The family size loaf weighed between eleven and thirteen pounds. For convenience, the loaves were broken into smaller pieces using sugar nippers, which ranged in size from the smaller hand ones to the counter models used by storekeepers. One quart of broken up loaf sugar weighed one pound to one pound one ounce. The price of the loaf sugar ranged between thirteen and seventeen cents per pound, depending on whether or not the entire loaf or portion of a loaf was purchased.
It is difficult to pinpoint a specific date when loaf sugar was phased out. Although other forms of sugar had been produced for a number of years, cookbooks as late as 1887, still recommended using loaf sugar and gave directions for pounding loaf sugar. Cut loaf sugar was still being sold in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck, and Company catalogue, along with cube; 4X powdered; fine and standard granulated; yellow and brown; and confectionary sugars.
Only refined sugar was molded in cones, with one exception. Large loaves of brown sugar, called Bastards, weighed fifty-six. The sugar in these loaves was made by the concentration of inferior syrups, thus producing a much lower quality of sugar. Even though small cones of brown sugar may be found in ethnic grocery stores, there is no evidence that they were common in the United States in the nineteenth century. They were made by packing the damp brown sugar in wooden molds and after the loaves are set and semi-dried, they were removed from the molds and allowed to completely dry.
MUSCOVADO OR MOLASSES SUGAR — The word Muscovado was derived from either the Spanish masacabado or the Portugese mascavado, both meaning “unrefined.” The terms brown sugar, molasses sugar and raw sugar all refer to the dark-brown sugar that remained after the first processing of sugar cane. It had a high molasses content, was moist and had a strong molasses taste. This sugar could be further refined on the plantations or shipped to refineries for additional processing. It was shipped to stores in barrels and sold as one of the lower or cheaper grades of sugar. Since it tended to harden in the barrel, it needed to be broken up with a sugar auger or “sugar devil” (resembled a large hand drill) and was sold by the pound. If the barrel was exposed to summer heat or high humidity, the sugar and molasses began to separate and the molasses would leak from the barrel. The weight of Muscovado sugar differed in weight from the more refined loaf sugar because of a higher moisture content. One quart of brown sugar weighed one pound two ounces. Muscovado sugar is still available in some gourmet grocery stores under the name of “molasses sugar” or Barbados sugar. It has a strong molasses flavor and is unlike modern brown sugar to which molasses is added to refined white sugar. The wholesale price was five and a half cents per pound when purchased in an approximately 1000 pound hogshead.
NEW ORLEANS SUGAR — This referred to the sugar made in Louisiana, and was considered to be an inferior quality to the sugar from the Caribbean. The Western Journal, in 1847, reported that only medium and common sugars, and sugar-house molasses came from Louisiana. The cost of this type of sugar ranged from eleven to thirteen cents per pound.
POWDERED or ICING SUGAR — In 1851, Oliver Chase (of NECCO Wafer fame) developed a mill for powdering sugar, which he used in his candy making process and also sold to confectioneries. If a housewife or cook wanted powdered sugar, refined loaf sugar was pounded into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. The consistency of the period powdered sugar was similar to superfine sugar rather than powdered or confectioners’ sugar. One quart of powdered sugar weighed one pound one ounce.
PULVERIZED SUGAR — Similar to crushed sugar, pulverized sugar was the finely ground dust of other sugars and sifted through a vibrating screen which separated the different sized grains. The cost of pulverized sugar ranged in price from fourteen to twenty cents per pound, depending on the quantity of the sugar.
RAW SUGAR — This term was given to two kinds of sugar; Muscavado sugar or centrifugal sugar before they were cleaned.
SUGAR CANDY — Similar to modern rock candy and both transparent and brown sugar-candy was produced. The syrup that was used to make the sugar-candy was thinner than that used for loaf-sugar and the syrup was not agitated, thus larger crystals of sugar formed on suspended strings or in lumps. Being extremely hard it was more difficult to dissolve, but could be finely powdered. Since all the impurities had been removed, clear sugar candy was the preferred sugar for making jams and jellies. Brown sugar-candy was made from sugar syrup that had not been completely clarified and contained some impurities. The price of sugar candy ranged from twenty to thirty-eight cents per pound. Both types of sugar candy are still available under the name of rock candy and are now sold on sticks, strings, or in large chunks.
SUGAR CUBES — The first reference to sugar-cubes was found in Great Industries of the United States written in 1872: “Much of the best white sugar sold in American cities is sent to market, not in loaves, but in small, square-cut lumps, and the cut, crushed, and pulverized sugar are put up in barrels.” In England, Henry Tate developed sugar cubes in 1872 but they were not commercially produced until 1878. Since sugar loaves are not readily available today, cube sugar is a great substitute for loaf sugar in a recipe since they are as hard as loaf sugar, and may be pounded with the same effect as sugar loaf chunks.
VACUUM SUGAR — Sugar made using a vacuum pan instead of open kettles and also called Demerara sugar.
YELLOW SUGAR — See Demerara sugar.
LIQUID SWEETENERS
BLACK STRAP MOLASSES — The product of the last or third boiling of sugar. It was an extremely thick, dark and bitter syrup and was used in the distillation of rum.
GOLDEN SYRUP — The name given to the light-colored syrup that was the residue of the centrifugal processed sugar or the syrup from the initial refining process. It was also called, sugar-house molasses. Lyle’s Golden Syrup or King Golden Syrup are modern equivalents.
MOLASSES — Molasses was a generic term for the thick, viscous liquid that was drained from the raw sugar or was the product from the second boiling of molasses which was darker, less sweet with a stronger flavor than the lighter syrup from the first boiling. It was this second boiling of molasses from which the better quality of rum was distilled. Molasses was shipped in hogsheads, each holding 130 to150 gallons. It was priced between fifty and sixty-three cents per gallon. Unsulphured is comparable to nineteenth century molasses.
SORGHUM — See Non-sugar cane sweeteners.
SUGAR-HOUSE MOLASSES — There is some confusion between sugar-house syrup and sugar house molasses. Both are defined in nineteenth century sources but they were conflicting definitions. One source defined it as the light syrup that came from the first boiling of the sugar syrup after the sugar crystals had been removed. It was then filtered using charcoal from animal bones giving it a light color and a mild flavor. (Youmans, p. 221) Another name for this syrup was “golden syrup.” Other sources indicate that it was the lower grade of molasses that was dark and bitter. (Wood) Sugar house molasses sold for seventy-five cents per gallon which may be an indication that it was a higher grade molasses.
SUGAR-HOUSE SYRUP — Most primary sources describe sugar-house syrup as the lowest grade of molasses which came from the third boiling of the molasses. It had a very strong, somewhat bitter taste, and would be similar to blackstrap (from the Dutch word, stroop for syrup) molasses. This molasses was used for the distillation of rum (Ward, p. 216). Other sources defined it as the lighter syrup produced from the first refining process. No price was available for this product.
SYRUP — This term was often seen nineteenth century advertisements and there was indication as to what kind of syrup was intended. The following ad appeared in the Elmira Weekly Advertiser & Republican, November 1862, read in part, “ SYRUPS, SYRUPS- Stewart's Syrups, the drippings of Loaf Sugar....” Syrup, mentioned in this context, usually referred to molasses, sugar house molasses or sugar house syrup. If maple or sorghum syrup was referenced, the specific type was stated. Corn syrup would not be included in this category until the late nineteenth century.
TREACLE — A product from the second boiling of sugar and resulted in a dark, strongly flavored syrup. It was also known as Refiner’s Syrup, Drip Syrup. Treacle is a British term for molasses.
WEST INDIA MOLASSES — Again there is confusion in terminology from nineteenth century sources. Some indicate that it was a lighter molasses (Randolph, p. 191) similar to golden syrup. Other sources indicate that it was a darker and more bitter molasses. (Wood)
NON-SUGAR CANE SWEETENERS
Sweetenings were obtained from sources besides sugar cane. Although, depending upon the location, sugar cane sugar was predominately sold and used in the United States in the nineteenth century, but adverse circumstances often instituted new sources of sweeteners. Maple sugar may have been more common in New England and the other states which produced maple sugar and syrup. Sorghum was a fairly new product but quickly gained popularity during the Civil War.
BEET SUGAR - Beet sugar, or “French sugar,” was made as early as 1747 when it was first developed in Prussia by a chemist named, Marggraf. In France, in 1806, Napoleon encouraged the production of beet sugar, and the chemist, Chaptal, worked with perfecting the process. By 1847, there were more than 400 beet sugar refineries in France and quite a few more in Germany. It was not until the late 1860s that experimentation was done with beet sugar in the United States (mostly in Illinois). In the1860 United States census (published in 1864) stated, "Beet-sugar is a novelty in this country, but an old story in Europe." The quote was originally published in the Journal of Commerce of New York, Nov.11, 1864.
Beet sugar is now more common in the western part of the United States, where sugar beets are grown. It is just labeled as “sugar,” and if the consumer needs cane sugar, one must look for a label that reads, “pure cane sugar.” Even though beet sugar looks like cane sugar, they are not interchangeable in all recipes. In candy-making, cane sugar is recommenced because an unpleasant scum will form when beet sugar is boiled. In addition, beet sugar has a mildly musty, vegetative odor when stored in a cannister but it dissipates when the sugar is used in foods.
CORN SYRUP — Although attempts had been made to manufacture sugar from corn during the Civil War it was not successful until 1873. A plant was established in Buffalo, New York for corn syrup, but the process was not perfected until 1880, when it was discovered that when corn starch was treated with an acid solution, the result was an anhydrous [liquid] sugar. It was not in general use until much later and was not mentioned in grocers’ handbooks until 1911, where it stated that corn syrup was used for commercial purposes in the manufacture of jellies, jams and confections. (Ward, p. 196) For table use, corn syrup was usually flavored with either cane or maple syrup because it is relatively tasteless, except for sweetness. The recognizable brand name of Karo® corn syrup was first produced in 1902.
CORN-STALK MOLASSES — There was a reference in The History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton that in 1776, with the shortage of West Indian molasses, some people in the area tried grinding corn-stalks and boiling down the juice to make molasses. Apparently it was tart in taste and was more appropriate for use in cooking than as a beverage sweetener.
HONEY — This was the first sweetening known to man. Honey is the sweet nectar of flowers that has been modified by honey bees. The earliest reference to honey as a sweetener was found in Egyptian writings from 5500 B.C. There are numerous varieties of honey which differ in taste and color according to the type of flower nectar harvested by the bees.
MAIZE, MEXICAN OR CORNSTALK SUGAR — Stalks of green corn or maize yielded a sweet juice, when boiled down, producing a type of dark brown sugar. In 1855, Johnston wrote in The Chemistry of Common Life, that production of this sugar had been recently attempted in the United States, but not in the quantity could compete with cane sugar. It was sold in the form of small loaves or chunks and may have been available in the southwest area of the United States in the nineteenth century. The Mexican brown sugar found in ethnic stores is made from sugar cane rather than corn.
MAPLE SYRUP OR SUGAR — The colonists learned how to make maple syrup and sugar from the native Americans. Maple say is boiled until it is concentrated and the sugar is the crystalized form of the syrup. It was one of the major sweeteners used in this country up until the late nineteenth century and according to the 1860 census, 40,120,205 pounds of maple sugar and 1,597,589 gallons of maple syrup was produced. It was not a major export because of its distinctive maple taste which was not appreciated in Europe.
SORGHUM — Another source of sweetening, newly introduced into the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, was sorghum or Chinese cane (Sorgo) or the African cane (Imphee). It was introduced in France by Count de Montighy in 1851, and it was granted a patent in the United States in 1854. An advantage of sorghum was that it could grow in colder climates than sugar cane and was produced as far North as Minnesota and Wisconsin. Sorghum was processed much like sugar cane, but only syrup was produced. In the 1860 census, 6,749,123 gallons were produced in the United States. During the Civil War, when little domestic sugar was made and the imported supply was diminished, sorghum was common in the South. Even in the North sorghum was grown and used, because sugar products were more difficult to import during the war. A number of wartime diaries and post war articles about wartime conditions, recount the growing and processing and the use of sorghum. The taste is stronger and more bitter than that of either molasses or golden syrup. It is still grown and is available in some speciality food stores and historic sites. Sometimes, in the countryside in the fall, there will be roadside stands selling sorghum.
PALM OR DATE SUGAR — India, as well as the Phillippines, the Moluccas, and some South Sea Islands, produced palm sugar, also known as jaggery or gur, by boiling the juice from four species of the palm tree, including the date and cocoanut palms. The result is a rough dark sugar and would probably not have been a common item in the United States during the nineteenth century. This type of sugar is available in some Indian or ethnic grocery stores.
MISCELLANEOUS SOURCES OF SUGAR
Sugar was also made from grapes and other fruits; turnips; parsnips; and grass, but the production of the other types of sugar was done mostly in Europe. During the Civil War there were accounts that fine white sugar was made from watermelons. [The author has tried on numerous occasions to make sugar from watermelon juice, but only has been able to achieve a golden amber syrup. It tastes very good, but did not granulate.]
For bibliographic references, please refer to the article in the August/September 2005 issue of Citizens’ Companion.