Beat sugar and oil until smooth
I am following a carrot cake recipe for the first time and the first set of instructions are 'to beat the sugar and oil until smooth,' but how smooth is it suppose to be? Is it still going to be slightly grainy or smooth like a baby's bitten with baby oil on it?
Best Answer
The simple answer has to do with how things are dissolved in general. When salt (NaCl) is placed in water, it "dissolves" because all the sodium ions and chloride ions separate from each other and "hide" (become dispersed) within the water molecules. This is an example of an ionic system: Na+ and Cl- interact with the water molecules in a specific way...the positively charged Na+ is attracted to the part of water that is negatively charged and the negatively charged Cl- is attracted to the positive part of the water molecules.
Its the same general principle when talking about salt dissolving in vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is made of lipids: chains of carbon and hydrogen, which are not ionic at all. Therefore there are no places for the ionic sodium and chloride to hide within the lipids. The Na+ and Cl- would prefer to stay with each other where they have nice ionic interactions..the result is that the salt does not dissolve.
Sugar, on the other hand, can have interactions with the lipids. Sugar is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in a ring structure. It has chemical groups that can interact with the CH's of the lipids AND it also has chemical groups (OH) that can interact with water molecules. It makes contacts with the lipids and slowly starts to hide within the lipid molecules until its so dispersed that you cannot see it in granular form anymore. Due to these properties, sugar can dissolve in both water and in the vegetable oil.
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How do you beat oil and sugar?
Place softened butter and sugar into large mixing bowl. Mix, using hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes, or until butter mixture is pale yellow, light and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice while mixing.Can you whip sugar and oil?
Creaming sugar into butter or shortening helps leavening because the sharp edges of the sugar crystals cut air into the solid fat medium, essentially creating a foam. This then serves as seed air bubbles for the chemical leavening to expand. This effect cannot occur with liquid oils.What should creamed oil and sugar look like?
You will recognize it when the recipe indicates: "Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy"; or "Beat butter and sugar together until light in color"; or any combination of those descriptions. Creaming is one of the most important mixing methods used in the entire recipe.How long should I beat the cake batter?
this should only take around 3 minutes with an electric mixer. If you cream the mixture for too long the butter will start to melt and this will start to collapse the air bubbles in the mixture, making the cakes heavy and possibly a little greasy.How to Cream Butter \u0026 Sugar | Just The Tip | Steve Konopelski
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