COCOWEL
Comparisons · 3 min read

Coconut sugar vs cane sugar: what GI 35 actually buys you

Coconut sugar releases glucose more slowly (published glycemic index 35 against cane sugar's 65), carries measurably more minerals (343 mg calcium per 100 g against about 1 mg), and skips refining entirely. It is still sugar — about 92 g of sugars per 100 g — so the honest framing is 'a better sugar', not 'not sugar'.

Glycemic index, without the marketing

GI ranks how fast a food raises blood glucose against pure glucose at 100. Table sugar sits around 65; coconut blossom sugar's published reference value is 35. A lower GI means a slower, flatter rise — meaningful if you're paying attention to energy stability across a morning.

What it doesn't mean: license for quantity. The total sugars are nearly identical to cane sugar. Anyone managing blood glucose should be guided by their doctor, not by a comparison article — ours included.

The mineral difference is real

Refining strips cane sugar to sucrose and nothing else: about 1 mg of calcium per 100 g remains. Our blossom sugar, measured on lot 21101277, holds 343 mg calcium, 1.53 mg iron, 110 mg sodium and traces of zinc and copper — the minerals of the sap it was simmered from.

Open-kettle simmering is the whole process. Nectar is tapped from the unopened flower each morning, reduced over heat, and crystallises on its own. No bleaching, no bone char, no anti-caking agents.

In the kitchen

Swap it one for one wherever brown sugar goes. It dissolves slightly slower, caramelises readily, and brings a toffee depth that white sugar can't — bakers usually notice the upgrade in cookies and crumbles first. In coffee it behaves like an unrefined demerara.

Sources
  • COCOWEL coconut blossom sugar minerals: lot 21101277
  • Glycemic index values: published reference values (coconut sugar 35, sucrose ~65, honey ~58)
  • Cane sugar mineral figures: published typical values
The product behind the numbers

Organic Coconut Sugar

Glycemic index 35. Every figure in this article is measured on the product itself — the lab lots are printed on the page.

COCOWEL organic coconut blossom sugar — 280 g glass jar and 350 g box
Blossom · Unrefined

Coconut Sugar

Glycemic index 35.

from ฿295