DON'T FROWN ON BROWN: BROWN SUGAR ADDS MOISTURE AS WELL AS FLAVOR TO DISHES

Though Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones had something very different in mind when they sang in praise of brown sugar, I maintain that the stuff I put on my oatmeal each morning is every bit as worthy of a tribute.

Whether it's enriching a crock of baked beans, adding density to a pan of brownies or elevating a grapefruit half from mere diet food to something sublime, brown sugar makes me wonder why people just didn't leave well enough alone instead of refining sugar to the point where it turns white.

Without refining, all sugar would be brown. In fact, the earliest attempts at refining sugar, which began in Persia in the 4th century, produced large golden brown blocks. But today the natural brownish color is lightened by washing and bleaching. First juice is pressed out of shredded sugar cane, then boiled until it becomes a thick brown syrup. The sugar which crystallizes out of this syrup is still brown even after it has been through a centrifuge to remove the molasses from it. Only after further refining and decolorizing with phosphoric acid and charcoal does the sugar become white.

Alas, these days the brown sugar you are likely to find at the supermarket is actually white sugar with some of the molasses added back in instead of genuine unrefined brown sugar crystallized from a molasses syrup. (You can actually make your own by merely adding two tablespoons of molasses to one cup of granulated sugar.) But the real thing is another matter. Harkening back to the sugar of thousands of years ago it is richer in taste and color with complex underlying flavors. The best unrefined brown sugar is said to come from sugarcane grown in volcanic ash on the topical island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa.

There are many different kinds of brown sugar. Some are available in health food stores and at ethnic markets and others through mail order.

Muscovado sugar is also known as Barbados sugar because that's where it originated. It has a rich flavor with hints of rum and caramel. It can be used in baking (it's great in gingerbread) and goes well with broiled fruit such as bananas or pineapple. Though ordinarily the darkest of Western sugars, it does come in a light form.

Demerara sugar is named for the place in Guyana where it originated. It is lighter in color than muscovado and has coarse, hard crystals. Despite its light color, it imparts a definite molasses flavor. Its sandy texture makes it less desirable for creaming in cake batters, but it is ideal as a topping for coffee cake, sugar cookies, ice cream or a bowl of hot oatmeal. Turbinado sugar is a relative of Demerara sugar. It is raw sugar that has been washed with steam and resembles refined white sugar except that it is honey colored. It is especially suited to caramelizing atop crme brulee.

Chinese rock sugar may range in color from clear to amber and comes in large or small lumps. Chinese cooks use it in dishes ranging from soups to puddings.

Jaggery is dark palm sugar from India. It has a fairly solid consistency and comes in blocks. Depending on the type of palm sap used, its flavor varies but is always strong and distinctive with smoky overtones and a nutty aroma. Wealthy Indian families might serve a dozen or more varieties of it with tea.

Mexican Brown Loaf Sugar comes in two varieties. Panela is an unrefined loaf sugar found in southern Mexico. It comes in flat rounded chunks which are so hard they have to be beaten into smaller pieces with a hammer. Piloncillo is similar to panela except that it is milder in flavor and comes in a conical shape. It is a classic ingredient in Mexican spiced coffee. Brownulated sugar is a trade name for Domino's brand of free-flowing brown sugar which has been hydrolyzed so that it doesn't dry out or cake. Great for sprinkling on cereal or fruit, it cannot be substituted for regular brown sugar in baking because it doesn't measure out in the same way.

Cup for cup brown sugar and white sugar have the same sweetening power, but for an accurate measure brown sugar must be packed into the measuring cup to eliminate air pockets. Because it contains 2.1 percent water compared to only 0.5 percent for white sugar, it adds moisture as well as flavor to baked goods. This is generally a good thing unless you're making something fragile or delicate, such as a meringue, where the added weight can be counterproductive.

If a recipe doesn't specify whether to use light or dark brown sugar, the safest thing to do is opt for light to avoid overwhelming the other flavors in the dish. Because I like the more pronounced molasses flavor of dark brown sugar I tend to use it unless a recipe directs otherwise.

One problem with brown sugar is that it can turn rock hard if it loses moisture, which is why nowadays it usually comes packaged in a resealable plastic bag. Favorite methods for softening hardened brown sugar range all the way from putting it in the refrigerator to putting it in the oven. Actually, heating the sugar in a microwave provides a quick but temporary fix by softening the molasses "mortar" which is created when brown sugar dries out. A longer-term solution involves replacing the moisture. A convenient way to do this is by putting the sugar in a container with a slice of apple. In a day or so the water vapor from the apple will have softened the sugar. Of course, the best way is to avoid the problem altogether by using brown sugar so frequently that it doesn't have a chance to dry out in the first place. The following recipe is a delightful way to pursue that objective.

Marge Janssen's Brown Sugar Brownies

When Marge Janssen of KRCU's Public Radio Circle brings a pan of these brownies to the station during its fund drive, they go faster than a 30-second spot announcement. She got the recipe from her sister over 40 years ago.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 stick butter, slightly melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup broken nuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Beat sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and smooth. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. Cool before removing from pan.

Listen to A Harte Appetite Friday mornings and Saturday afternoons on KRCU, 90.9 on your FM dial. Write A Harte Appetite, c/o The Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699 or by e-mail to tharte@semovm.semo.edu.