In Halwa, Milk tea, cake, Indian sweets, and Custard can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery?
Out of
- Halwa (Gajar ka halwa, gajrela, a sweet dessert pudding from grated carrot, water, milk and sugar),
- Indian Barfi (barfee, burfi, a dense milk based sweet confectionery from the Indian Subcontinent),
- Custard (a cooked mixture of milk and/or cream and egg yolk; or made from readymade custard powder),
- Milk tea, Cake, ...
in which items can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery (traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar)?
Best Answer
Of course you can use jaggery in all of these recipes or in any recipe in lieu of sugar, but like all substitutions, they may not be perfect or one to one. The outcome and flavor profile will be slightly different.
Consider what jaggery is made of (per the infamous wikipedia):
- Up to 50% sucrose
- up to 20% invert sugars
- moisture content of up to 20%
- remainder made up of other insoluble matter such as wood ash, proteins and bagasse fibers
The parts that are not sucrose are the parts that are interesting. How will they affect your recipe? What adjustments should you make?
- Invert sugars taste sweet, but are even more hydrophyllic than sucrose, and interfere with crystal formation of the sucrose. This may be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the recipe. Candies dependant on sugar crystalization will be trickiest to manage.
- Moisture means water, you might have to reduce longer or reduce water content elsewhere in the recipe, or it could be a non-issue.
- Other content will lead to the unique flavor profile, which may be why you want to use it in the first place
In regards to the specific foods you have mentioned:
- Gajar ka halwa -- You would have to adjust the ratios, but no reason it would not work based on how this dessert is described in the wikipedia article
- Barfi -- I don't have any personal experience with barfi to know how much it depends on crystalization versus denaturing of the milk proteins for its texture--you would have to experiment. The descriptions I have read sound like it is more about the milk.
- Ready made custard powder -- I don't know what ingredients are in the "ready made custard powder"--the result would certainly be safe. Assuming the custard powder contains proteins and starch which thicken the custard when you add it to milk or water, then I see no reason why the jaggery should not work, although the result may be somewhat less thickened.
- Milk tea - no issues other than the flavor profile
- Cake -- with appropriate adjustments (mostly for the water content) it should work fine, except possibly those made by the creaming method
Note that everything I have written is based on the science, and internet descriptions of local food items I am not familiar with. You should also consult local recipe books, and find variations which use jaggery--or the lack thereof. That should give you some idea what is common, and how recipes using jaggery vary from those that don't for the same item.
Pictures about "In Halwa, Milk tea, cake, Indian sweets, and Custard can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery?"
Which is the sweetest sweet in India?
Gulab Jamun These sweet balls just melt in your mouth! They consist of powdered milk and sugar syrup. This simple dessert is very popular not only in India, it is adored in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and can be bought in Govindam or other popular sweet shops in Guwahati.Which is the cheapest sweet in India?
7 Mouthwatering and Inexpensive Desserts of India- Rice kheer. Rice kheer is easily one of my favorite Indian desserts and is no doubt the easiest recipe! ...
- Jalebi. ...
- Phirni. ...
- Semiya payasam. ...
- Gajar ka halwa. ...
- Rava kesari.
What is Indian sweets made of?
All mithai\u2014a Hindi/Urdu word for sweets\u2014are made with some combination of flour, sugar, nuts, legumes, and milk or khoya (a semi-solid dairy product made by slowly boiling milk until it thickens), and then often enhanced with cardamom, rose water, or saffron.Which is the best sweet in India?
Here are some of the most delicious Indian desserts that you need to try on your visit to the country.- Laddu. Laddu is the most popular festive treat in India. ...
- Kheer. ...
- Gulab jamun. ...
- Gajar ka halwa. ...
- Sandesh. ...
- Rasgulla. ...
- Kaju barfi. ...
- Kulfi.
Milk Cake Recipe | Perfect Alwar Ka Mawa Halwai Style - CookingShooking
More answers regarding in Halwa, Milk tea, cake, Indian sweets, and Custard can white sugar be replaced with Jaggery?
Answer 2
The primary difference between white sugar and jaggery is that white sugar is refined and jaggery isn't and is in a more natural state. White sugar is simply crystalised sucrose whereas jaggery is unrefined whole cane sugar which includes the molasses component that refined sugar has lost.
It's this molasses component that gives jaggery its brownish colour which refined white sugar has had removed.
Molasses gives jaggery a more caramel flavour over refined white sugar and is probably a far better, purer product to use in place of refined white sugar in the examples you give. But do bear in mind the slight caramel flavour jaggery will impart due to the molasses component.
Answer 3
Jaggery gives more sweetness than the white sugar. Jaggery is used for making sweetened pongal. Even it can be added to coffee instead of white sugar to get taste.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Nataliya Vaitkevich, Nataliya Vaitkevich, Anna Nekrashevich, Anna Nekrashevich