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Which Sugar is the Best? Essential Sugars for Your Prepper Pantry
In today’s video, I walk you through the Essential Sugars that you should be stocking in both your Working Pantry and your Prepper Pantry. We start with your basic pure cane sugar and work our way all across the sugar continuum until we reach Sucanat!
In this blog post that accompanies my tutorial video, you can learn about:
- What are the Essential Sugars?
- Recipes with Sucanat
- Make Your Own Brown Sugar
- Alternative Low Cal and No Cal Sweeteners
- Free Pantry List of Essential Items
- More Whole Sugar Recipes
- Ultimate Prepper Pantry Video Series
- Favorite Whole Sweeteners
Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
What are the Essential Sugars?
When it comes to knowing the right type of sugars—your essential sugars—that you should be stocking in your everyday Working Pantry and your Extended or “Prepper” Pantry, you need to:
- Get to know what each sugar is and how to use it best.
- Taste each sugar and decide which flavors you like.
But most importantly, as you journey from a processed foods kitchen to a traditional foods kitchen, you want to reduce your reliance on highly refined sugar (such as white cane sugar) and replace it with unrefined sugars (such as Sucanat).
But don’t worry! If you are overwhelmed when you go to the grocery store and see rows and rows of different types of sugars and whole sweeteners, you’re not alone. I receive lots of video comments and emails from many of you who have told me that you’re not sure how to choose the right type of sugar. So…What are the essential sugars?
In my detailed video, I go over each of the following essential sugars, how the sugars are made, and how best to use the sugars in your baking and cooking. (Each link below goes to the timestamp where I talk about that sugar in my video.)
- Pure Cane Sugar
- Powdered Sugar
- Caster Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Sucanat
- Turbinado and Demerara
- Muscavado
- Jaggery and Pilicillo Panela
- Bonus Sweeteners
To learn more about the shelf-life of sugars, consult the following references:
- Long-term food storage (Latter Day Saints)
- Preserve the Harvest (Utah State University Extension Service)
- How Long Does Food Last? (Eat by Date)
Recipes with Sucanat
As you learn more about the different types of essential sugars available to home cooks, you will want to start incorporating more unrefined sugars and sweeteners into your home baking and cooking.
In the following videos and accompanying recipes, I share how you can start replacing white sugar with Sucanat in baking. You’ll also learn how to make a sweetened powdered coffee creamer that’s healthier than anything you can buy at the store.
Make Your Own Brown Sugar
Want to stop buying sugar and learn to make your own? In my brown sugar video, I walk you through how to make the following sugars:
- Light brown sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Mock Sucanat
You’ll be adding these brown sugars to your pantry of essential sugars in no time.
Alternative Low Cal and No Cal Sweeteners
Are you watching your waistline and want to eliminate sugar from your diet? No problem! In my Keto recipe video, I show you how to make a Keto-friendly coffee creamer, but I devote a large part of the video to an overview of all the Keto-friendly and low-carb sweeteners on the market today. (Each link below goes to the timestamp where I talk about that low calorie and no calorie sugar in my Keto video.)
Free Pantry List of Essential Items
Your Four Corners Pantry consists of your:
- Everyday Working Pantry
- Refrigerator
- Freezer
- Extended Pantry (also known as your Prepper Pantry)
To learn how to stock your Four Corners Pantry with essential items, be sure to download my FREE 36-page Essential Traditional Foods Pantry List.
This comprehensive eBook will walk you through step-by-step with everything you need to stock in your Traditional Foods Pantry. Plus, you’ll find links to lots of videos showing you how to use the items you store in your pantry alongside your essential sugars.
More Whole Sugar Recipes
Want more ideas on how to incorporate whole, unrefined sugars into your recipes? Watch the following videos and print out the accompanying recipes.
Ultimate Prepper Pantry Video Series
Do you feel behind when it comes to being prepared? Learn the basics of creating and stocking your pantry with my Ultimate Prepper Pantry series. In addition to what foods are best to store and how to do this on a tight budget, you’ll also find these in-depth topics:
- The Best Food Storage Supplies for Your Prepper Pantry
- What is the Difference Between Oxygen Absorbers and Silica Gel Packs?
- How to Seal Mylar Bags in Seconds for Long Term Food Storage
- How to Store Whole Grain and Make Homemade Flour
In the videos below, I share everything you need to know to get started and be successful—and you can start with as little as an extra $5 per week!
Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest
- Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
- Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
- Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Whole Sweeteners and Essential Sugars
- Sucanat
- Turbinado
- “Sugar in the Raw” (Turbinado Packets)
- Demerara
- Muscavado (Dark)
- Pilicillo Panela
- Jaggery
- Maple Syrup
- Maple Sugar
- Date Syrup
- Date Sugar
- Raw Honey
Favorite Food Storage Supplies
- 5 Gallon Bucket w/ Lid
- Gamma Lid
- 5 Gallon Mylar Bag
- 500CC Oxygen Absorbers
- 10g Silica Gel Packs
- Bay Leaves
- Flour Sack Towels
Favorite Kitchen Supplies
- Favorite Aprons
- Whisk
- Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- 8-Quart Slow-Cooker
- Fat Separator (Clever kitchen device to help you decant bone broth)
- Masontops Fermentation Kit (promo code below)
- Mockmill 100 Stone Grain Mill (promo code below)
Use promo code MARYSNST for a one-time 15% off Masontops and Breadsmart products on Amazon.com.
Learn more about Mockmill electric grain mills for making fresh flour and their Flake Lover's Flaker that flakes whole grain in minutes.
Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide
- Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
- Visit my Shopping Guide page
Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!
Recommended Reading
Disclaimer:I am not a medical doctor, a medical professional, a dietician, or a nutritionist. All content found on the MarysNest.com website, including text, images, videos, eBooks or eGuides, social media, or other formats, were created solely for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or proper nutritional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have watched in a video or read on this website. Use caution when following the recipe in this video. The creator and publisher of this video and website will not be held responsible for any adverse effects that may arise from the use of this recipe and method or any other recipe and method on this website or corresponding video channel.
