1.
refined white sugar; superior white sugar
The most common type of granulated white sugar used in Japan, finer and slightly more moist than Western granulated sugar.
上白糖を大さじ二杯加える。
Add two tablespoons of refined white sugar.
日本の家庭では上白糖が最もよく使われる砂糖だ。
In Japanese households, refined white sugar is the most commonly used sugar.
上白糖はグラニュー糖と比べて粒が細かく、料理に溶けやすいのが特徴だ。
Compared to granulated sugar, refined white sugar has finer grains and dissolves more easily in cooking.
Literally "superior white sugar," from 上 (superior), 白 (white), and 糖 (sugar). This is the default sugar in Japan — when Japanese recipes simply call for 砂糖 (sugar), they typically mean 上白糖.
Unlike the coarser granulated sugar (グラニュー糖) common in Western countries, 上白糖 has a finer texture and contains a small amount of inverted sugar, giving it a slightly moist quality and milder sweetness. It accounts for roughly half of all sugar consumption in Japan.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 上白糖大さじ一杯: one tablespoon of white sugar
- 上白糖を加える: to add white sugar
- 上白糖の代わりに: instead of white sugar
SIMILAR WORDS:
- グラニュー糖: granulated sugar — coarser crystals, commonly used in Western baking
- 三温糖: light brown sugar — made by further heating white sugar, with a richer flavor
- 黒糖: brown sugar, raw sugar — unrefined sugar from Okinawa with a strong molasses flavor