Trader Joe's Organic Sugar

It's funny how organic commands such a premium. Companies actually get away with charging more for a more natural product. Bummer. Being that sugarcane is something I can neither grow or process at home in NY, then I guess I'm between a rock and a hard place.

Taste

The last time I was at my local Costco, sugar when purchased in quantity, is quite cheap. Unless the word organic is mentioned. The question is whether or not you feel the premium is worth it. For the most part, I usually say no. When it comes to baking something, then this might be a good thing to look into.

I actually took a Candy Cane making class at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. I really wanted to learn how to pull sugar. Long story short, I have a newfound respect for all those sugar artists out there. What does this have to do with anything? For beautiful candy canes (and sugar sculptures for that matter) the product of choice is actually plain ol' Domino Sugar. I would probably not use Trader Joe's brand to make lollipops, however, cookies and baked goods are something else.

Out of the bag, you get sugar that doesn't smell like plain sugar. It smells like light molasses. It's also not pure white. It even tastes of molasses slightly. For tea or coffee, I would not pay the premium here. This raises the question. For $3.49 for 2 pounds, when would you use this?

My answer was baked goods. While most recipes don't ask for it, I've noticed a difference in what comes out of the oven. When there are notes of molasses already in the sugar I figured the best way to go was with a brown sugar-flavored cookie: The chocolate chip cookie. While the recipe I used has a slightly different proportion of white sugar to brown sugar, the molasses flavor that I was looking for was very much present.

Overall

So, while I personally would not choose to use this for all my sugar needs, I do think this is a better product in baking. If you are all about organic everything, then yes, this is a solid choice. Is the product essential? Probably not, but if you are reaching for it, you are getting a more natural molasses-y flavor here. It was a good complement to another sugar option Trader Joe's Organic Brown Sugar.

Would I buy Trader Joe's Organic Sugar again? I'm going to give this product a yes. Yes, it's pricey. However, it bakes very well. Would I use it for tea or coffee? No. As a bag for baking only, that is fine with me.

Visual rundown

The bag of Trader Joe's Organic Sugar:

Calories and ingredient

How Trader Joe's describes this product:

One last thing

It's one thing to test and taste sugar. It's another thing to cook with it. I made Pinch of Yum's Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe except I baked mine at 325F. Mine came out just like the pictures on their blog. Yes, they were soft and they were darn good. If you want the recipe, you'll have to check it out. And yes, the recipe can easily be doubled. Check out these cookies made with Trader Joe's Unsalted Butter, Trader Joe's Organic Brown Sugar, Trader Joe's Chocolate Chips, and obviously Trader Joe's Organic Sugar.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.

The Bottom Line

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