Keep these on hand for quick flavoring.

Mix 1 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon.

Mix 1 cup sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons grated lemon, orange, or lime zest. Let stand, covered, for 5 to 7 days before using.

Split 1 or 2 vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a spoon. Mix the seeds and pods with 2 cups sugar, making sure the seeds are evenly dispersed, and store tightly sealed in a canister. The vanilla bean pods can be left in the canister indefinitely.

Powdered sugar, also called confectioners’ sugar, is a bright white powdery sugar. Its finest form, known as 10X, is the type sold packaged at most markets. In order to lessen clumping, a small quantity of cornstarch is added to the sugar during processing. If it does clump, sift it. Sometimes the cornstarch gives uncooked icings a raw flavor. If desired, before spreading this kind of mixture, you can heat it for about 10 minutes in a double boiler over boiling water. Alternatively, use organic powdered sugar, which is made with tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. Tapioca starch granules, unlike cornstarch granules, absorb moisture and start to swell before being heated. This gives it an advantage in uncooked icings, as it thickens them and makes them smooth and creamy. Do not try to substitute powdered sugar for granulated in baking—its texture gives a different crumb to cakes. In other uses, substitute 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar for 1 cup granulated sugar.

Lump sugar and sugar cubes are granulated sugar molded or cut into rectangles or cubes for use in hot drinks and cocktails. Crystals of Rock Candy make an interesting stand-in for lump sugar and, when separated or crushed, a sparkling garnish for frosted cakes or other desserts.

Pearl sugar is coarse chunks of sugar made by compressing white sugar crystals and sifting them to get a specific particle size. It is used primarily as a topping on baked goods in Western Europe. Belgian pearl sugar is larger than Swedish pearl sugar and is better suited to making Liège waffles, while smaller, hard bits of Swedish pearl sugar are ideal for topping pastries, cakes, cookies, and breads, from France’s chouquettes (small choux pastry puffs topped with pearl sugar before baking) to Scandinavian cakes and pastries.

Made from refined sugarcane juice and used as a sweetener for various Chinese desserts and soups, this sugar is sold in lumps and is available at Asian markets. It is usually crushed or broken into small pieces before use.

Some sugar substitutes can be used in cooking or baking, according to the manufacturer’s directions. However, they do not give the same texture and color in baking as do true sugars and should be used only in recipes especially developed for them. Saccharin is a synthetic sweetener commonly used at the table. It is three hundred times sweeter than sucrose (granulated sugar), but it has a slightly metallic aftertaste. It does not contribute any calories because it is not metabolized in the body. Saccharin should not be cooked, as it becomes bitter when heated. Aspartame is technically considered a nutritive sweetener, contributing 4 calories per gram. However, aspartame is two hundred times sweeter than sugar and very little of it is needed to achieve sweetness. Therefore, its caloric contribution is negligible. Sucralose is a white crystalline powder made from the chlorination of sucrose. It is four hundred to eight hundred times sweeter than granulated sugar. It is stable when subjected to heat, and it can be used in a variety of drinks, baked goods, and frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Its chemical structure is very close to that of sucrose, but it is noncaloric. Acesulfame potassium is two hundred times sweeter than sugar.

“Natural” sugar substitutes have gained favor in recent years, though they have many of the same drawbacks as the chemically derived sweeteners discussed above. These include stevia, which is made from a South American plant traditionally used to sweeten yerba mate tea. It is sold in powder and liquid form. The liquid form is highly concentrated. Some powdered stevia is formulated to be used as a cup for cup replacement for sugar in baking. While this may technically be true, we find baked goods made with stevia alone to have an off-putting aftertaste. Use stevia for up to half the sugar in baking recipes for the best flavor. Recipes with strong-flavored ingredients like chocolate and peanut butter tend to hide the flavor of stevia best. Use very concentrated forms of stevia, such as liquid stevia, as directed by the manufacturer. Remember that if you use concentrated stevia in a recipe, you will need to compensate for the missing bulk of the sugar by adding egg whites, applesauce, yogurt, or mashed banana. For every 1 cup sugar substituted for in a recipe, add ⅓ cup of one of these bulking agents.

Xylitol is extracted from birch trees and is exactly as sweet as sucrose (sugar). It has a slight cooling effect on the tongue, somewhat like the sensation of chewing a mint leaf. It may be substituted cup for cup for granulated sugar, and it contains 40 percent fewer calories than sugar. It does not have a bitter aftertaste, though ingesting too much xylitol can have a laxative effect.

Monk fruit extract is made from the fruit of a plant related to cucumbers, squash, and melons. It is three hundred times sweeter than sugar and is usually mixed with bulking agents and sold in powder form. It has a bitter aftertaste. For best results, do not substitute more than half the sugar in a recipe with monk fruit extract.