Brownulated sugar
April 27, 2010 6:24 PM Subscribe
Brownulated sugar. I think Domino's calls this a new product but I swear I remember it from my youth, so sometime in the 60s or 70s. Anybody else remember this product name?
I can't believe any company would name a new product "brownulated" in 2010. There's a post on ask yahoo from 2 years ago asking about it, so it's a least as old as that. But really, "brownulated?"
posted by sanko at 6:34 PM on April 27, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by sanko at 6:34 PM on April 27, 2010 [1 favorite]
A registered trademark search shows it filed in 1963. It is a pourable brown sugar.
posted by ALongDecember at 6:38 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by ALongDecember at 6:38 PM on April 27, 2010
It's been around continuously for at least 10 years. I'd stake my banana bread on it.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2010
yep. i have it in my pantry. brownulated. says so on the box. not a fan, personally. just coz i'm used to the stuff that you pack with the back of a spoon.
posted by lakersfan1222 at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by lakersfan1222 at 6:46 PM on April 27, 2010
I'd say closer to 20 at least, I remember my mom accidentally bought it when I was a kid. (Other awesomely accidental purchase include caffeinated bottled water (twice!) Mom was not a super observant shopper.)
posted by restless_nomad at 6:54 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by restless_nomad at 6:54 PM on April 27, 2010
Products put "New" on their boxes for all kinds of silly reasons, like when they slightly change how much is in it or how they make it, or something, to get you to look at the box.
posted by frobozz at 8:44 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by frobozz at 8:44 PM on April 27, 2010
Domino's site has a timeline for their history, and if you click on 1958, they say Brownulated sugar was invented then at Brooklyn's R&D center, with 1960 being the release date.
posted by knile at 9:01 PM on April 27, 2010
posted by knile at 9:01 PM on April 27, 2010
I have heard (Good Eats?) that most "brown sugar" is just granulated sugar with molasses mixed back in after processing to achieve the right consistency. My suspicion is that 'brownulated' sugar is just granulated with less molasses, so that it still pours like granulated.
Incidentally, there is really no reason to buy brown sugar; you can just buy granulated and molasses and then make it up by adding the latter to the former in a food processor. This has the advantage of letting you adjust the 'wetness' to whatever you want. (I use a really molasses-heavy brown sugar for soft cookies and a more dry mix for crumbling on the tops of stuff that I want to brown.) I mix up only the amount that I can store in an airtight container at a time. Assuming you already keep molasses and granulated sugar around — which you should because molasses is awesome — it's one less ingredient to worry about.
Also if you have brown sugar that's old and dried up, a spin in the food processor with a little molasses (or water if you don't have it) will bring it back.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:11 AM on April 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Incidentally, there is really no reason to buy brown sugar; you can just buy granulated and molasses and then make it up by adding the latter to the former in a food processor. This has the advantage of letting you adjust the 'wetness' to whatever you want. (I use a really molasses-heavy brown sugar for soft cookies and a more dry mix for crumbling on the tops of stuff that I want to brown.) I mix up only the amount that I can store in an airtight container at a time. Assuming you already keep molasses and granulated sugar around — which you should because molasses is awesome — it's one less ingredient to worry about.
Also if you have brown sugar that's old and dried up, a spin in the food processor with a little molasses (or water if you don't have it) will bring it back.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:11 AM on April 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Some of the good organic sugars are not refined first, just left as sugar with molasses. That stuff tastes way better in my baked goods than the reconstituted "brown" sugar Kadin2048 refers to. If you can't find the unprocessed organic good stuff, then adding raw molasses to granulated as suggested is probably a good alternative, because most "brown" sugars are too dry for my tastes.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:51 AM on April 28, 2010
posted by caution live frogs at 6:51 AM on April 28, 2010
I remember it, as well. Don't think it was identical to "sugar in the raw".
posted by Rash at 9:14 AM on April 28, 2010
posted by Rash at 9:14 AM on April 28, 2010
Response by poster: Wow, thanks, everyone. It's nice to know I'm not crazy. My mother bought a lot of the new convenience foods (it was the thing to do in the 50s and 60s), and I'm not surprised she bought this. Then I didn't see it in the supermarket for a long time. Thought it was very cool when I was a kid.
The Urban Dictionary gives "brownulated" a very unappealing definition. I agree, not a great product name these days.
posted by Sia Stewart at 3:45 AM on April 29, 2010
The Urban Dictionary gives "brownulated" a very unappealing definition. I agree, not a great product name these days.
posted by Sia Stewart at 3:45 AM on April 29, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by donajo at 6:30 PM on April 27, 2010