Sugarcoal

Overview

Sugarcoal, or Sweetblack in some regions, is the name given to the ground form of charcoal made from the wood of the chetta tree. Sugarcoal is a popular seasoning and found in almost every professional chef's arsenal. Unlike most charcoal, which crumbles into powder, sugarcoal naturally breaks apart into crystals similar in size to salt. It can, however be ground manually, but is usually not.
 

Use in Cooking

Table Seasoning

Many homes in Faselir keep a box of Sugarcoal on or near the dining table. Adding the granules to meats and vegetables lends a sweet and smoky flavor to the dish. Mothers have long found that adding some sugarcoal to their children's vegetables will encourage them to eat what they are given.
 

Cooking

Meats and porous foods like tubers can be seasoned with sugarcoal before roasting or pan frying to encourage the food to absorb the flavors of the sugarcoal to give a somewhat subtler but more all-through flavor.
 

Boiling and Soups

Sugarcoal dissolves readily in water and should not be added to soups or dishes that will be boiled. The flavor leeches into the water making a very weak, incredibly lightly sweet broth. It is considered a waste to try to make sugarcoal broth this way as much less of the substance can be used after boiling to give the dish the same, or better, effect.
 

Fruits

While sugarcoal can be used on fruits, the sweetness of the fruit often overpowers that of the sugarcoal and the smokiness tends to dissolve in the fruit's juices. Most chefs find that many fruits are better served by serving them in other ways or, if the smoky flavor is desired, roasting the fruit without adding sugarcoal.
 

Spirits

Despite its name and sweet flavor, sugarcoal is not a sugar. Yeast does not digest sugarcoal and it can not be made into spirits. Adding sugarcoal to spirits usually just results in turning the liquid black.
 

Bread

As mentioned, sugarcoal is not a sugar and yeast will not process it. However, sugarcoal can be added to bread dough as a sweetener.
 

Desserts

No popular desserts have arisen featuring sugarcoal despite several attempts.
 

Production

Sugarcoal is the ground form of chetta-wood charcoal. While it can be made from chetta sawdust, most producers cut the chetta wood into pieces for the charcoal-making process and grind the resulting charcoal after the moisture has been removed and the grinding process is much easier.
  Chetta wood burns at a higher temperature than most other woods, making the process of charcoal-making troublesome for amateurs.
 

Trade

Sugarcoal is a common substance found at most markets. It is also commonly found in the merchandise of traveling merchants. Even merchants who don't normally carry other foodstuffs are known to carry sugarcoal because it sells well even in isolated villages.
  Sugarcoal is less expensive and more available than cane sugar.
 

Fraud

It is not uncommon for less reputable merchants or con men to cut sugarcoal with other substances to increase their profit margins. The most common additive is some other kind of charcoal dust which dilutes the flavor, but does not otherwise change it. This type of fraud can be detected with a visual inspection, but most people don't actually know what they are looking for.
  Some countries or municipalities offer licenses to sugarcoal producers in order to ensure purity. Allegations of corruption , however, are not unheard of. It is not uncommon for sugarcoal sold to distant villages to be only 50% pure or even less.