How to use Ragus’ pure sugars for Scandinavian Christmas recipes

Christmas is the time of year for traditions and everyone has their favourites, from the way they decorate their Christmas tree, to the amount of alcohol they put in their Christmas cakes; every family is different, and the meaning of Christmas is passed down through the generations.

Many of the Western Christmas traditions that we know, and love can be traced back to Scandinavian beliefs and customs; Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland all celebrate the festive season in a huge way, after all, it is the land of snow, ice, reindeers and Santa! Food and drink play an important role in the typical Scandinavian festive period, so do you fancy giving your Christmas meals a little twist this year by adopting some ideas from our Scandinavian cousins?

The good news is that a majority of their festive delights use products that Ragus supply; our products span pure sugars and syrups to special formulations created by our expert team on site at our laboratory in the UK. We are specialists in high quality natural pure sugars and pure syrups, from raw cane sugar to specialist glucose-sugar blends and with our new, simple product tool, you can filter through over 50 different sugars to find the right product for your food and drink needs: https://www.ragus.co.uk/product-finder/

Packed with an abundance of wintry flavours like cardamom and cinnamon, ginger and mustard, Scandinavian food is guaranteed to warm and comfort you during the long, cold winter days and nights.

From spiced ham (Julskinka) using mustard and dark brown sugar, to sweet fruit bread using golden syrup, from cinnamon biscuits and gingerbread houses (Pepparkakshus) to spiced Christmas cake using muscovado and dark brown sugar; there is something for everyone to enjoy this festive season.

Many of the Scandinavian recipes will work delightfully on the Christmas table or as part of your festive celebrations and Ragus has all the products you need to create these fantastic recipes.

Ragus’ Soft Brown Light Sugar is ideal to use in cakes, toffee, sauces and in biscuits; it also adds volume to cakes and flavour and colour to your recipes.

Our Dark Soft Brown Sugar provides a strong flavour and colour to ginger cakes, gingerbreads, fruit cakes and toffee-based recipes and its high molasses content adds moisture to your creations.

If it’s the spiced Christmas cake that takes your festive fancy, then it is Ragus’ Dark Cane Muscovado Sugar you will need; rich in flavour and dark in colour it is ideal for your Christmas cakes.

And last but certainly not least is the Scandinavian spiced sweet bread which contains golden syrup and is great paired with a cheese platter. Did you know the founders of Ragus invented golden syrup; take a look at how this amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup is made. Our golden syrup is used in a variety of recipes, it has a distinctive mellow flavour and is made from natural sugar ingredients. Click here to find out how we make golden syrup at Ragus: https://bit.ly/2zlGkz8

Scandinavian Spiced Sweet Bread Recipe:

Preparation time: 1hr 30 mins – Cooking time: 40 mins (or until browned)

Ingredients:

500 ml Whole Milk
14g Dried Yeast
3 tbsp Ragus’ Golden Syrup
Grated zest of 2 unwaxed oranges
40g Raisins/Currents/Mixed Fruits
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
200g Strong Brown Bread Flour
500g Strong White Bread Flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
Chopped mixed nuts for decoration

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.

Heat the milk until it is lukewarm, then whisk in the yeast and Ragus’ golden syrup. Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes.

Pour liquid into a mixing bowl and add the orange zest, ground cardamom and sea salt.

Gradually add in the flour until you have a firm dough.

Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for at least 30 minutes.

Once risen, knead the raisins/mixed fruit into the dough.

Divide the dough into two and shape accordingly to your chosen style.

Place each loaf on a previously prepared baking sheet, cover and stand in a warm room to allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes.

Brush the loaves with the beaten egg and sprinkle with chopped mixed nuts.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bread looks browned.

Remove from oven and cool before eating.

Ragus supplies high-quality, consistent and natural pure sugar products for food and beverage applications. To learn more about our products, please contact our Customer Services Team. To see more sugar news and updates, continue browsing SUGARTALK and follow Ragus on LinkedIn.