What is "muscovado"

Muscovado \Mus`co*va"do\, a. [Corrupted fr. Sp. mascabado; cf. Pg. mascavado, F. moscouade, n., formerly also mascovade, It. mascavato.] Pertaining to, or of the nature of, unrefined or raw sugar, obtained from the juice of the sugar cane by evaporating and draining off the molasses. Muscovado sugar contains impurities which render it dark colored and moist.

Muscovado \Mus`co*va"do\, n. Unrefined or raw sugar.

n. An unrefined brown sugar with a strong flavour of molasses.

thumb|upright=1.4|Brown sugar examples: Muscovado (top), dark brown (left), light brown (right) Muscovado, called Khaand in Hindi language, is a type of partially refined to unrefined brown sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar according to the process used by the manufacturer.

Confusion has been created over the meaning of the term muscovado sugar, and as there is no legal definition or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), different manufacturers are free to use the term loosely to describe any dark, molasses-rich sugar they produce. The term was originally coined in 17th- to 18th-century English to designate a poorly refined sugar that had retained too high a content of molasses and was deemed low quality.

In a modern context muscovado is used to define sugar made from the juice of sugar cane by evaporation until crystallization occurs. This solution of crystals and mother liquor (molasses) is called massecuite. The massecuite is set into moulds directly, granulated in cooling pans by shear action (either the traditional manual method or through use of a spray drier) or sent to a centrifuge to separate a crystal-rich mush that is drained of its molasses in a vessel under gravity.

Currently there are two localities still producing a commercial sugar termed muscovado, Mauritius and the Philippines. Muscovado from Mauritius is produced by centrifuged massecuite left to drain naturally of its molasses, whilst Filipino muscovado may be generated from any of the three methods.

There is some effort being made to clean up the terminology of sugars produced over the world as there are various synonyms used to describe unrefined through poorly refined to partially refined sugars with high molasses content and a dark colour made from sugar cane, such as panela (Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Argentina), rapadura (Brazil), chancaca (Chile, Peru, Bolivia), piloncillo (Mexico), muscovado (Philippines, Mauritius), panocha (Philippines), raspadura (Panama), kokuto (Japan), jaggery (India, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria) and papelon (Venezuela)