There are many types of sugar all around the world, such as Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, and Lactose.
- Glucose is a type of sugar that is commonly found in fruits.
- Fructose is also a type of sugar that is found in plants and is bonded with glucose.
- Sucrose is the common sugar which is also called Table Sugar.
- Lactose is a type of dairy sugar.
All of the above sugars have different molecular formulas and properties. Granulated Sugar and Castor Sugar both are types of Sucrose Sugar.
Granulated Sugar vs Caster Sugar
The main difference between the Granulated Sugar and the Caster Sugar is their size. And because of this reason, they have different characteristics and properties. The Caster Sugar is used more commonly as it has more usage than the Granulated Sugar. And the Caster Sugar became very famous, and the main reason behind making the Caster Sugar is due to its small size.
Granulated Sugar is the Sucrose type of Sugar, which is extracted from the sugarcane and from the mixture of Fructose and Glucose, which are also other types of Sugar. Due to its larger size, the usage of it is very less. And also, Granulated Sugar was first developed in India.
The Caster Sugar is also the Sucrose type Sugar as it is nothing but only the finely crushed Granulated Sugar which was introduced in the 90s. When the Caster Sugar is developed, various properties of The Granulated Sugar change, and because of its smaller size, it is preferred mostly across the world.
Comparison Table Between Granulated Sugar and Caster Sugar
| Parameters of Comparison | Granulated Sugar | Caster Sugar |
| Made | From Sucrose | Crushing granulated/white sugar |
| Size | 0.5mm in diameter | 0.35mm in diameter |
| Solubility | Comparatively Less Solubility | High Solubility |
| Presence of Moisture | Takes less moisture due to big size. | Takes more moisture due to small size. |
| Usage | Baking, making Toffee, Normal Cooking. | Baking cake, meringues, and Pavlova. |
What is Granulated Sugar?
Granulated sugar is the most common white sugar which also known as Table Sugar. It is said that Granulated Sugar was first introduced in India then spread across the world during the 80s before that liquid sugar was used. It is a sucrose type of sugar that is made from sugarcane and the composed mixture of fructose and glucose. This is the type of sugar that it takes to dissolve in the water.
Sugarcanes are collected, and the juice is extracted from it, then the juice is turned into the big size crystals of sugar by following the process of extracting, filtering, purification, and crystallizing.
Also, it is not preferred for the making of the cake due to its large size. But along with this disadvantage because of its large size, there is an advantage too i.e. it can be transported easily as there is no change of clumping at higher temperature and a good option for buying a larger quantity.
This type of sugar is best for baking, dissolving in liquids, and sprinkling on top of cookies or biscuits.
What is Caster Sugar?
In simple words, Caster Sugar is nothing but mostly finely crushed granulated sugar; therefore, it is a sucrose type of sugar that is, made from crystals of sugarcane juices. It is considered to be the best for baking cakes because of its very small and fine crystals, which mix up very easily. Therefore it is used in the making of cocktails. Caster sugar was introduced in the 90s, and today can be found in Australia the most.
It has more advantages as compared to Granulated Sugar. For example, it gets dissolved easily; therefore, it can be used for more baking at most of the places where the Granulated Sugar is used.
Also, Caster Sugar and Granulated Sugar don’t weigh the same, and this is the reason that caster sugar is much more affordable than Granulated Sugar. It is not suitable for bulk use. Also, a cool temperature is required to transport the Caster Sugar as there will be clumping at a higher temperature. It takes in more moisture because of its small size. And the price of casters sugar is much cheaper than the price of granulated sugar.
Main Differences Between Granulated Sugar and Caster Sugar
- Sucrose is used for the making of Granulated Sugar, which is made out of Sugar and a mixture of fructose and glucose, whereas Caster Sugar is made out of Granulated Sugar by finely crushing it.
- As Caster sugar is made by finely grinding the Granulated Sugar, therefore both of them have different sizes, the size of Granulated Sugar is 0.5mm in diameter, and the size of the Caster Sugar is 0.35mm in diameter.
- Due to its smaller size, the solubility of castor sugar is higher than the Granulated Sugar; therefore, it is dissolved in the water or liquid more easily.
- The particles of Granulated sugar take in less sugar in comparison to the Caster Sugar, and the reason behind it is the size of the Granulated Sugar.
- The Granulated Sugar is used in the Baking (pastries) and Making of Toffee, and in normal cooking, it is not used in the making of the cake, and on the other hand, Caster Sugar is used in the Baking (cakes and everything), in making of Meringues and Pavlova.
Conclusion
Although both Granulated Sugar and Caster Sugar have a lot of similarities as both of them are chemically made of Sucrose only and taste the same. Despite that, when caster sugar is made out of Granulated Sugar, its properties change. This change in the characteristics and properties make Caster Sugar very easy to use, and therefore it is used in more things as compared to the Granulated Sugar. Caster Sugar is more affordable than Granulated Sugar and is easily caked together. Therefore Caster Sugar is more preferable to Granulated Sugar.
Reference
- http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/5793/1/Murandu15PhD_Redacted.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022354916311650