Barbados sugar, more commonly called muscovado sugar or merely raw sugar is a type of minimally processed sugar that is a deep chocolate brown in color. Like typical brown sugar, Barbados sugar is much more moist than granulated white sugar. It contains a higher amount of molasses, which is processed using white sugar. The molasses content makes the sugar stickier. People with health concerns may prefer Barbados sugar because its minimal preparation technique means it retains some of the vitamins and minerals present in the sugar cane.

On its own, Barbados sugar is popular for its darker, more molasses tinged flavor. It’s popular in Britain, and today, may mostly be made in the Philippines. Barbados and Muscovado sugar are essentially the same product. If you want a stricter definition, you could say that Barbados sugar is exclusively made on Barbados, where muscovado sugar can be made anywhere that sugar cane is grown or processed.

To derive Barbados sugar from sugar cane, the sugar cane is chopped, and pressed to produce sugar cane juice. The juice is normally heated slightly, and may have the addition of lime, coconut milk and or/other acids to cut down on the juice building up foam during the heating process. Barbados sugar is then sun dried in cups, and when fully dry, it is pounded to break up the sugar crystals.

Since the process for making Barbados sugar is a simple one, you may hear the sugar referred to as poor man’s sugar. Yet in the UK, Barbados sugar is not considered merely for the poor — it is actually highly desired. It may be difficult to find outside of the areas where sugar cane is grown and processed in this manner, or outside of the UK. You can order it online from a number of Internet stores, and may be able to find it at specialty or import grocery stores.

If you have a recipe that calls for Barbados sugar, but you’re having trouble getting it, you can usually substitute brown sugar in equal amounts. To get close to the flavor of muscovado, you should try to use the darkest, coarsest brown sugar you can find. Essentially the greater the molasses content, the more closely your end product will taste like it has Barbados sugar in it. You can also add some dollops of molasses to help yield that rich unfinished taste of muscovado.

There are some advantages to using Barbados sugar. During the refining process of white sugar, sugar is stripped of virtually all of its minerals. This can be a shame since sugar cane has its virtues. It can be high in potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Barbados sugar tends to retain these minerals in small amounts and is lower in calories. A teaspoon of Barbados sugar has about 11 calories in it, while the average teaspoon of white sugar has 16 calories.