Cheap Homemade Raw Sugar Taste-a-Like

For a while my family attended a Russian church. It was a very memorable time in my childhood. They were amazing cooks and food was very much part of their culture. After dinner they would always have tea. Desserts and candies were eaten with black tea while everyone visited. Since then a cup of black tea with sweet foods has had a special place in my heart. 

They did drink sweetened tea with milk as well; that is often the first thing I make in the morning. Even after they left for missionary work in Bolivia we retained much of what we had learned from them. Borscht and tea in particular, become as much a part of our culture as it was of theirs.

While I was still living at home before graduating my family discovered Sugar in the Raw. We loved the crunchy little crystals and the complex caramelly flavor it added to tea. We didn’t love the price though. When I went to college I realized I was way too cheap to pay extra for turbinado sugar, that was really just unrefined sugar. Instead I came up with an inventive taste-a-like replacement. The texture isn’t the same, of course, but when used in baking or to sweeten drinks it’s just as good, in my opinion better.

All I do is mix brown sugar with white sugar. So easy.

 I only mix enough for our sugar bowl but you could always mix in larger batches. For most recipes I replace part or all of the white sugar with brown sugar to add some of those delicious caramel notes. The ratio of brown to white sugar can be adjusted to suit your taste. I usually add four or so tablespoons of brown sugar to the sugar bowl when making ours. To make it easy on yourself whisk the two together in a bowl or pulse them together in a food processor. Since I make such a small amount I just stir them together in the sugar bowl.

Do you have anything you make to taste like something you used to buy?

This post is participating in the Homestead Barn Hop, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, HomeAcre, From The Farm, Thrifty Things Friday and  Mostly Homemade Mondays Blog Hops, check them out to find other great blogs like ours!