GNUkko Sauvage (eris-ng) :neorenard: on Nostr: Brown sugar was originally just "second batch" (usually cane) sugar made out of ...

Brown sugar was originally just "second batch" (usually cane) sugar made out of leftover molasses (it's syrupy goo you get as a side-product in refining sugar), so it ended up with more non-sucrose stuff left in it. Nowadays, the sugar production is good enough that we get most of the sugar out in the "first batch", so store-bought brown sugar is usually created by mixing a bit of molasses into refined white sugar, especially if you live in a beet sugar country. You can probably still get "traditional" brown sugar as well, just might require more searching.

Brown sugar, due to it having more non-sugar stuff, has some extra micro-nutrients, usually iron, while white sugar has basically nothing. However, nowadays you usually get your micros from other food you consume anyways, so brown sugar is pretty much just about having a different taste. If the brown sugar at your market is truly just "fantasy" with brown coloring instead of molasses, you can try getting molasses, it'll probably be harder to find, but (I think) more likely to be legit, and you'd end up in the control of the flavor much more than just with brown sugar.