Sunday, May 5, 2013

Zulka Pure Cane Sugar Review (Giveaway CLOSED)

I was contacted by Zulka a few weeks ago and they wanted me to try out their sugar. As I was doing my recipe testing for the cookbook, I was going through sugar like it was going out of style. It could not have been a better time to sample their sugar because I was testing recipes that I have made time and time again, which meant if something tasted different I would know. 

Before I tell you my thoughts on Zulka, let me provide you with a few facts about their product. First off, Zulka is real sugar. It is not an artificial sweetener and it is not a low calorie substitute for sugar- IT IS SUGAR. Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar is a Non-GMO, (genetically modified organism) minimally processed sugar made from freshly harvested sugar cane. The term Non-GMO means that the sugar canes have not been genetically altered and are more natural. Zulka also does NOT undergo the conventional refining process of most granulated sugars and maintains the the appearance and flavor of raw sugar cane. You can learn more about the Non-GMO project HERE.

When I first heard about Zulka sugar, I was think it would be more like Turbinado sugar than white granulated sugar, but it's not. It's somewhere in the middle, though closer to white granulated sugar. I did a side-by-side comparison of Imperial Granulated Sugar, Zulka Morena Sugar and Sugar In The Raw Turbinado Sugar. The granulated sugar was pure white and uniformly fine in texture and the Zulka had more of a natural hue to it and was a bit coarser in texture. The turbinado sugar was even more coarse and similar in size to sanding sugar and was unmistakably golden in color. Cup-for-cup, Zulka can be used in place of granulated sugar and because it's less processed, more of the natural sugar cane flavor is still there. 


I used it in my favorite cake recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake and could not tell a difference in flavor, though it was slightly coarser in granule size. I was sent a 4 pound bag to try out and used in several recipes as well as in our coffee. I would buy it again but I had issues with the packaging. Since it comes in a plastic bag, I would have preferred a zip top closure to seal the bag. If you typically store your sugar in a separate container it's not that big of an issue, I just would have like to seal it up and store it rather than having to find something to secure that bag shut. If you're looking for a more natural product to stock your pantry with, consider giving Zulka a try. 

If you're interested in trying out Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar for yourself, Zulka is offering Lick The Bowl Good readers two chances to win a 4 pound bag of your own. All you have to do is answer the two following questions. 

1). Tell me why you're interested in trying out Zulka sugar  and 
2). Visit Zulka.com and tell me what recipe you would like to make with it. 

I will select two winners at random and announce the winners on May 13th. Please be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. 
Thank you Zulka for the sugar!

58 comments:

AllThingsYummy said...

I'm a big fan of sugar in the raw but would definitely like to try this. I'd try the Lemon Ice recipe.

latanya t said...

I have never cooked with sugar cane before and would like to try it. I would try the chocolate chip cookie recipe.

dlatany at gmail dot com

Peakview said...

I'd love to try the Zulka. I am trying not to eat GMO's since my cancer experience earlier this year. I'd try the Big Soft Ginger Cookies. :)

Unknown said...

I would love to try this out! We go through a lot of sugar in my house. I try to buy non-gmo whenever I can but i never even thought to consider that sugar could be gmo.

As for the recipe, i would love to try the Spiced Sugar Cookies. http://zulka.com/spiced-sugar-cookies/

Jessica Lynn
(animesb@gmail.com)

Everyday mom said...

I always love experimenting when it comes to baking, and its always good to have an excuse to do some baking

Everyday mom said...

the big soft ginger cookies sound yummy

Amanda said...

I would like to try it because we are trying to switch to more natural products in our house. I would make the Frozen Coconut Smores.

Margie Huddleston margie@thehuddlestons.org said...

I would love to make the big soft ginger cookies. They look awesome! I enjoy trying new sugars, especially when they are better for you than the processed stuff. :)

Alison Marcus said...

I love trying new things - especially when they're recommended by trusted bloggers like you! Frozen coconut s'mores sound delicious.

Lisa said...

I'm interested in products that are non-GMO and would like to try this sugar. I would try the lemon ice. It sounds so cool and refreshing.
roussel(dot)lisa(at)yahoo(dot)com

Foodiewife said...

Okay, I usually don't enter many giveaways (I usually don't win...boo). but I'd LOVE to try this sugar. I'm all about breaking away from refined sugar when possible.
What recipe? Really. C'mon, you know I"m a baker. But that flan recipe has me interested, big time.
Pick me!

Anonymous said...

Monica,

Really!!! Do you have to do all this advertising...cheese, sugar and etc. You are getting away from your core of Blogging. Is it really necessary$$??

Beth Fitch said...

I think anything less refined is a good thing.
I would have to try the fudge topped shortbread or maybe the mocha icecream.... ;)

Monica H said...

Anonymous,

In not getting paid by Zulka or Tillamook. They sent me the product to try. The reason I said I'd do it was because I was able to turn around and offer my readers the same benefits. With all the time I was away from my blog working in the cookbook I figured I'd rather put up content that would benefit YOU than to not put up anything at all. .

I'm trying to get back to blogging and posting more recipes but that has been difficult as I just wrote and photographed almost 60 recipes in a four months time span.

So is it necessary? You can decide that. I'm doing the best I can please don't be so critical.

Monica

runescape rs gold said...

These food looks so delicious , The style is very unique, very warm . Rarely seen these lovely cake , Will always pay attention to your posts I'm thinking that's a great idea Debby! I'll have to try it next time!runescape cheap gold

keshakeke said...

I would like to try this sugar because I like the fact that it is non-gmo. I did not realize that granulated sugar had gmo. I would like to try the brownie recipe!
keshakeke(at)gmail(dot)com

ilene said...

I like trying more natural products. I would probably bake the cherry muffins.

White Toast with Butter said...

You are doing a great job. People who are anonymous and critical are cowards. I would make something savory --- like the chicken wings on their site. xo

Sweet Morris said...

I would like to try the Zulka sugar. It sounds so much better for you but I haven't seen it in our stores yet. I would try the Spiced Sugar Cookies.

Carol<>< said...

I would love to give it a try, I have never tried a course pure cane sugar and have seen different recipes on pin that call for it
thanks for the chance to win!!!
Carol N<><
cricutlady101 at aol dot com

Unknown said...

I love Zulka sugar and have used it for years. I'd like to try the double layer pumpkin cheesecake. Thanks!
hsheree2012 at gmail dot com

Baked Bliss said...

I have never tried a natural sugar before and woukd love to! Thecfrozen coconut smore's would be my pick!

Jennie35 said...

I always want an excuse to eat a sweet!

Jennie35 said...

I would try their chocolate chip cookies!

Madame Heather said...

Any food product that is less processed and more natural is worth a try! I would make my classic banana cake!

Xo,
Heather P.
http://spunkyrealdeal.blogspot.com/
hef117@gmail.com

Heather said...

I'd love to try and boo to the party pooper....some of us really enjoy getting the chance to win something and have a happy package come to our door!

I'd try the mocha ice cream because, well, it is is ice cream!

fuerniss at hotmail dot come

Shanna Cluff said...

I want to try Zulka because it would be a great starting point to going more natural. The chocolate rice pudding is calling my name!

Jan said...

Chocolate Chip cookies I think.

MonaRae said...

I'm especially interested in the non-GMO characteristic of the Zulca sugar. I would definitely try it in your chocolate bundt cake recipe (the one you did a year ago with the bundt pan giveaway...BY FAR THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EEEVVVVEEERRRR!)

Unknown said...

I currently buy organic cane sugar but am always looking for new brands! The BBQ Dry Rub looks like it would be delish on some ribs!!

CJ Pillow said...

I am interested in any product that is non-GMO.

CJ Pillow said...

I would like to make the monkey bread.

Anonymous said...

i regularly brew water kefir and would love to try this sugar with it. As for a recipe, I'd love to make the big soft ginger cookies to share with my co-workers and work study students to thank them for a job well done!

lynee(dot)sanute(at)gmail(dot)com

lbink said...

I've been interested in trying a more natural sugar, especially the non-GMO. I looked at the Zulka website and would like to try the big soft ginger cookies. Love anything with ginger.... Thank you for the giveaway and the opportunity to participate.

Nicole said...

I am interested in seeing if I like the coarser texture more, and would love a more natural sugar. I would use this in our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! Thanks!

nicragun@gmail.com

Cccam Server said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Dear Monica, I'm a recent fan of yours and have made a few of your recipes, like the honeybee cake and the oatmeal raisin cookie coffee cake! I'm always seeing my favorite chefs on tv use cane sugar, and I would love to try it in my baking. I would definitely make the monkey bread! Thanks for this awesome giveaway.

LadyInRed said...

I'm always hunting for more natural or healthier ingredients so would love to try the Zulka Pure Cane Sugar! I'd definitely make the "Lemon Cream Cake" as lemon is a big hit in our house! I'm looking forward to using this new product in the future!

Sheila said...

my friends are all going all natural and I would like to see what the difference is. i'd like to make the chocolate chip cookies. http://zulka.com/chocolate-chip-cookies/

aksheilaboo at gmail dot com

Brenda said...

I always bake with cane sugar so would like to
compare this brand with what I usually use.
Would try a cake recipe first.

RhubarbLady said...

Oh yes, I like to try and buy NGMO food items. And, I've whirred up sugar in my blender to make a finer grain-I would definitely try that with the Zulka sugar. The lemon ice looked so refreshing for an upcoming summer day.

js said...

This sounds great. I'm definitely interested in foods that are less processed. I would most likely use it in no bake cookies!

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone, looks like a great product! Just wanted to point out that "non-GMO" means the plant the sugar is made from has not been genetically modified. It has nothing to do with the processing of that plant, including any refining that might be done. This product is both non-GMO and minimally processed.

Monica H said...

Thanks for the info Jo Roe!

Monica h

Anonymous said...

the less processed the better in my book :) though i thought GMO had something to do w/ genetically modified and not processing but whateve as i'm not a fan of either.

i would go for either the ginger cookies or the chocolate chips depending on my mood that day.

fruitcrmble AT comcast DOT net

Unknown said...

This sugar actually sounds pretty interesting. Since I have moved to the south, I cannot find bakers C&H pure cane sugar anywhere! It's all Dixie Crystal, but I have found that regular crystal sugar gives a little fluffier texture when creaming it with the butter, which I like :) Anyways, it's always fun experimenting with different things.

Unknown said...

I also want to try making that Nutmeg Atol thing. It looks delicious!

Sue said...

I have never heard of this product and it sounds interesting. I keep my sugar in a canister, so the packaging wouldn't be an issue for me.

I would like to try it because I don't use artificial sweeteners to cook with and I love trying new products.

I just bought a huge mojito mint plant so my first recipe would be the non alcohol mojito!

Brittany said...

Non-GMO doesn’t mean that the sugar is less refined. It means that the actual plans genes have not been modified or changed. These days most crops genetic makeup has been modified to make it more resistant to weather or insects. As this is a relatively new science the process of genetically modifying our food it a hug social experiment as we don’t know what these changes will mean for us as we consume GMO’s. We are disturbing the natural process of nature and many people have recognized the danger in that, making NON-GMO products more and more popular.

Monica said...

I love baking with natural cane sugar and this is a new brand to me. I love making cakes with cane sugar, but I love using in any of my desserts!

Tiffany, tstiggins68@gmail.com said...

Oh, this looks interesting. But, I actually came onto your blog today because I did a twist on one of your recipes with a twist. I bought the Orangesicle cake mix and cookie mix recently and then saw your Orangesicle choc chip loaf cake. Thinking I still had the cake mix I printed your recipe but when I got home it was the cookie mix I still had. What the heck, I thought, I will put the chips in the cookies....and they were excellent. The choc chips kicked it up that extra notch.
Thanks so much for your ideas and recipes.
I would love to try the Zulka because I like the way baked items come out with sugar, but do some of my baking with substitutes just because of the amount of sugar needed in recipes. I like the fact that it is nonGMO and minimally processed in comparison to white sugar. I would make your zucchini chocolate bundt cake with the bundt cake pan set I just bought. Thanks again!

Melody said...

As a cancer survivor I like that this is GMO free and less processed than sugar. I would love to try the chicken wing recipe. It looks yummy.

Mel J.

Debbie said...

Would love to try this in my baking since it seems more natural and pure than granulated sugar....fits right in with my new blog and eating more natural foods...

Sherri said...

I like to experiment with different kinds of raw sugars. Big soft Ginger Cookies sound pretty darn good!

Anonymous said...

I would love to try this sugar it just sounds more for real..I would make the chicken wings I went to the site and it sounded mighty good to me...I love your blog and recipes, your babydoll Hayden looks so doggoned gorgeous, your receipes are easy to follow and taste so yummy..Happy Mother's Day to a sweetie..all the best from mary s. at momanddadoo@clear.net

Anonymous said...

I not sure if I can use the morena pure cane sugar to replace brown sugar. I'm not sure if it is since morena is brown. need help on this dilemma. Thanks

Monica H said...

Zulka Morena sugar is to be used as you would regular granulated white sugar. This is not a replacement for brown sugar which has molasses in it to make it brown and moist.

Monica

Anonymous said...

I was told that it doesn't dissovole in somethings

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