Muscovado
Sweetener
Top 10 pairings
Muscovado is an unrefined or partially refined cane sugar made by evaporating sugarcane juice and leaving most of its natural molasses behind. Dark brown, damp and sticky, with a deep toffee-and-treacle flavour, it is one of the least processed of the cane sugars.
Picking a good onedrag
Damp, near-black, clumpingBricked hard or wet through
Soft with a few lumpsEveryday bestThe working bag: barbecue rubs, marinades and glazes, rum drinks, coffee - anything a fork through the lumps will put right.
Squeeze a pinch between your fingersStill moist and packing, with firm lumps through the bag that crumble as soon as you press or fork them
The colour, right through the massSand to toffee brown all the way down and still visibly damp - light muscovado, the same sugar carrying less molasses
Smell the bag as it opensSweet and molasses-dark but quieter, the smoke faded - an older bag, or the lighter grade
The pack and the labelSealed, or decanted into a tub whose lid truly shuts, the sugar still soft against the side