Ingredient: White sugar

White sugar, also known as table sugar, is one of the most famous sweeteners in the world. It is either extracted from sugar beet or sugarcane plants. White sugar is used in almost everything, such as bread, pastries, pasta, yogurt, etc. It is also an essential ingredient in baking and has more to offer to the culinary world other than the sweet flavor: – Sugar promotes caramelization giving baked goods a beautiful golden color. – It is also hygroscopic, meaning that it can keep pastries moist and hold water for a long time. – Granulated sugar has the property of tenderizing baked goods. It prevents the development of gluten and makes food softer. – It can facilitate leavening in two ways: First, yeast is a fungus that requires energy to grow, and sugar provides this energy by stimulating dough to rise. Second, when you mix sugar with butter, the air is incorporated and trapped, leading to the leavening of the baked goods. – You can use sugar as a garnish and make a caramel spiral for decoration. You can also dust cakes with powdered white sugar. Although we cannot imagine life without sweet and tasty food, we should control the amount of white sugar we consume every single day, and why not opt for healthier alternatives!