1.
light brown sugar; sanontou (a Japanese sugar with a caramel-like color and flavor)
A Japanese type of brown sugar produced by repeatedly heating the sugar syrup that remains after white sugar is extracted. It is pale brown with a mild caramel flavor and is used widely in home cooking, especially for simmered dishes.
砂糖は三温糖を使う。
I use sanontou (light brown sugar) as my sugar.
三温糖を入れると煮物にコクが出る。
Adding sanontou gives simmered dishes a richer flavor.
うちの家では白砂糖より三温糖を使うことが多い。
At our house we use sanontou more often than white sugar.
Written with 三 (three), 温 (warm, heat), and 糖 (sugar). The name reflects the production process, in which the sugar syrup is heated three times, giving the sugar its characteristic caramel color and flavor.
Despite its appearance, 三温糖 is not truly unrefined sugar — it is refined white sugar whose remaining syrup has been caramelized by repeated heating. It is especially popular in traditional Japanese cooking for 煮物 (simmered dishes) and 照り焼き.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 三温糖を使う: to use sanontou
- 三温糖を加える: to add sanontou
- 三温糖大さじ1: one tablespoon of sanontou
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 白砂糖: white sugar — the most common refined sugar
- 黒砂糖: unrefined brown/black sugar — darker and stronger-flavored
- グラニュー糖: granulated sugar — larger crystals, neutral flavor
- きび砂糖: raw cane sugar — pale brown, less processed than sanontou