Muscovado sugar or Dark Muscovado is sugar made from sugarcane juice without removing the molasses which is produced from the evaporation of the sugarcane juice. So muscovado has a dark color similar to palm sugar. Even though it is almost the same as palm sugar, this sugar has a rough and crystalline texture, because it is the result of freezing the sugar caramel. The process of making muscovado sugar is still done traditionally without modern technology in the manufacturing equipment.

How to Make Dark Muscovado

The process of making dark muscovado is almost the same as making crystal sugar. In the process of making it, muscovado still retains molasses during the production process. This is different from the process of making granulated sugar which removes molasses (brown syrup) to get white crystals utilizing refinement. The method of making muscovado starts with extracting sugar cane by adding lime. The resulting liquid is then heated until it leaves brown sugar crystals. The sugar crystals that form have a brown color with a high level of moisture and are very sticky. In addition, Muscovado crystals have a rough and granular texture, like coarse beach sand because there are molasses in it.

The resulting taste

Some muscovado sugar producers remove the water content in muscovado crystals to produce dark muscovado granule products. Because, muscovado crystals still have a complex sweet taste, because they are still mixed with the bitter taste of the production effect. Reducing the molasses content during the manufacturing process will make the muscovado taste a bit lighter and less bitter. However, reducing the molasses will make the muscovado color lighter and not too dark.

Muscovado Sugar Manufacturers

India, Barbados, and Colombia are the largest muscovado sugar-producing countries in the world. At present, Muscovado is widely known, so it becomes an export commodity with high selling value. In India, muscovado sugar is known as Khandsari or Khand. Not only a muscovado sugar producer, India is also the largest muscovado consumer in the world. Apart from India, Colombia is also a producer and exporter of good quality dark muscovado. Meanwhile, in Barbados, this sugar is known as Barbados sugar. Because most of the population on the island of Barbados own a Barbados sugar factory. There, the manufacture of Barbados sugar still uses traditional methods passed down from generation to generation.