Rub Cakes Up

Have you tried drying your brown sugar before mixing? I would spread it thin on a cookie sheet and put in a low temp oven till it no longer held together when you pinch it. Just a thought.

Bob

See if this gets you there.

For Silicon Dioxide or Tricalcium Phosphate mix no more than 2%.

Cornstarch: 2 Tbsp per 5 cups.


Turbinado sugar,in place of brown sugar often helps.

John Willingham from Memphis cooks his rubs that contain sugar and then grinds them.

Chris Schlesinger from New England also uses this technique.

They both have books out.

Hope this helps a little.

Here's my chance to ask someone to tell me more about turbinado sugar. What are its properties, why is it used in Q recipes, and where does one find it?

This should give you a pretty good start.

Scroll down a couple of inches.

Sugars

Turbinado is called natural or sugar in the raw.

It is a little more coarse and tends not to burn until about 275�

This is a brand many stores carry.
Turbinado

It is also less likely to clump.

Thanks for the responses so far.

They carry Turbinado Sugar at the St. Peter Food Co-op [along with a huge variety of bulk spices]. GeisyerQ, if you have a co-op or whole-foods store in your area, check there.

So, is Turbinado a natural, "non-refined" sugar? Anyone? Does one have to make adjustments in quantities (i.e., 1 TBS table sugar = 1 TBS Turbinado)?

TIA!

I use white corn meal in my rubs to help prevent caking, it won't change the taste; about 1 cup for every 5 cups of rub. But I don't have that much sugar in mine. I would recomend drying the sugar first and still adding the corn meal.

no adjustments,less refined

Roger,
Do you remember this discussion about Brown Sugar at class? What is brown sugar?
A lot of people instead of using Turbinado, just dehydrate their brown sugar. It's the moisture in the BS that is caking up your rubs.

GeiyserQ..You asked about Turbinado, here's what I know:

Cooks Thesaurus for Sugar

Another source's definition of Turbinado. People sometimes call it "coffee sugar" because of the crystal size. Think of it like this. As kosher salt is to table salt, turbinado is to brown sugar. Both are just bigger crystals -- basically, at least for our discussions.

or

Turbinado sugar is a healthier alternative to refined sugar. While both sweeteners are made from sugar cane, turbinado sugar does not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. It retains some of the natural molasses and so is tan in color. Liquids are spun out of the sugar thus the name "turbinado". Unlike refined sugar, turbinado sugar retain more of the nutrients found in sugar cane.

or
Turbinado Sugar is large crystals of light (or dark) brown sugar are prepared from the unrefined, minimally processed, juice of sugar cane. The juice is spun out of the cane, thus the name Turbinado.

And finally, according to Sugar facts at Sugar Order

Sugar facts

Everyone knows that many companies make brown sugar by just adding molasses to white sugar. Well, turbinado can be created the same way.
Those are the only way, but a lot of companies make them that way.

See, now you know...

or course I didn't mention "Succanat" which is "Sugar Cane Natural" which is a different taste also.

This is what the "Food Lovers Companion" had to say:

The flavor of raw sugar is akin to that of brown sugar. In this raw state, however, sugar may contain contaminants such as molds and fibers. The so-called raw sugar marketed in the United States has been purified, negating much of what is thought to be its superior nutritive value. Two popular types of raw sugar are the coarse-textured dry Demerara sugar from the Demerara area of Guyana, and the moist, fine-textured Barbados sugar. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned. The coarse turbinado crystals are blond colored and have a delicate molasses flavor. Other sources of sugar include maple sap, palm sap and sorghum. Almost 100 percent of sugar is carbohydrate. Granulated white sugar contains about 770 calories per cup, as does the same weight (which equals about 2 cups) of confectioners' sugar. A cup of brown sugar is slightly higher at 820 calories. It also contains 187 milligrams of calcium, 56 of phosphorous, 4.8 of iron, 757 of potassium and 97 of sodium, compared to only scant traces of those nutrients found in granulated sugar.