Hi, you all! I don't know about you, but here in east-central Florida, I'm having a hard time finding a bag of Dixie Powered Sugar. I had to shop more than 3 grocery stores and none of them have it except a small boxed kind, which is a no-no.

I also went to Sam's Club wholesale and I was shocked that they don't carry it! They only have "Bakers and Chefs 10x Powered Sugar", 7lbs for $3.69!

What's going on? Are you having trouble find it, too? Any suggestion? I'm starting to panic because I'm opening my home-based bakery in a few months soon, once I moved to North Carolina. I wonder if any of you living in NC are having trouble finding it?

Well, I'm not in NC, but in South Alabama. I haven't been able to purchase a bag of powdered sugar since late September...I'm not kidding either! It has to do with hurricane Katrina, I think, and the warehouses over in LA....there's lots of cane sugar farms over there, as well as processing plants...and I think it's either Domino or Dixie (or both) that only makes their powdered sugar at those locations...something like that. I stocked up right after the hurricane hit, once the stores were open again, at least. The last time I saw it on the shelf, there were only 13 bags left...I bought them all! lol Used my last one on MMF a few weeks ago & haven't been able to find any brand of any 10x sugar anywhere since. So I've been having to buy the little boxes and sift all the lumps out before I can use it. Finally decided to just sift 2 lbs at a time and put it in ziploc bags. So...you're not the only one having this problem.

Can you order C&H online? Thats the brand we have out in California that is the best

Not even the wal marts have any?

Not even the Wal-marts have any powdered sugar in bags of any brand, not even their own brand...at least here where I live. Very frustrating. Even the regular granulated sugar and brown sugar supplies have been very low and intermittent. I haven't seen the sugar shelves in the stores fully packed since the week after Katrina. Our stores didn't open for almost 6 days after the hurricane and they didn't receive another shipment of sugar products (or coffee or tea) for just over a month after the storm....for that time they were just selling the stuff they already had in stock in the back of the store, which didn't last long. The only sugar items that are always fully stocked are the artificial sweetners and the like. I really think I'm just going to start making my own from scratch...I already have to sift or run thru the food processor the boxed powdered sugar that they are keeping in stock.

So far I have not had any trouble buying it here in MO. I did hear that Walmart was having trouble keeping their shelves stocked with granulated sugar for a while. I buy at Sam's and have had no problem with their powdered sugar in the 7 lb. bags. I'd rather use C & H but Sam's is so much cheaper. The instructor I had said only cane sugar but so far I haven't had any trouble. I always sift mine, no matter what brand.

I haven't seen any problem with the beet sugar in buttercream. But when you cook it it does not carmalize the same. I make an english toffee candy and had a disaster as the beet sugar would not carmelize. It just kind of crystalized, had to throw out two whole batches before I figured out that it was because I bought generic sugar for the first time! The only difference I notice in icing is a slightly chalkier taste.

Is it possible to have someone send some to you? Or is that a silly questions?

That make sense, because of the hurricanes - sugar crops were destroyed. How does bakers like you to keep the business running when powdered sugar isn't available? That's a scary thought. I'm glad that I'm moving out of Florida.

I just used the brand you mentioned from Sam's last night and it turned out fine. I always use the name brand but like everyone else it's been hit or miss trying to find it. Once you are an official business you should be able to use your business to work with wholesalers and distributers.

I live about 45 minutes from New Orleans and have not had any problem at all finding 2 lb bags of powdered sugar. That is too weird! I know right after Katrina EVERYTHING was hard to find...from Deodorant to Bread. We just got a new Walmart in our town about 2 weeks before Kat hit and it was so frustrating to go in there for stuff and they didn't have it. I complained to an employee and she told me that Walmart lost a bunch of stores and the warehouse stock had to go to restocking those first. Plus we had tons of evacuees and volunteer groups buying all the supplies. I thought I was gonna have to stink for awhile (no deodorant). My friend in Alabama was gonna mail me some deodorant if I couldn't find any! LOL!!

Dodibug, that's interesting because last week, my Wilton class instruction told us never to use 10x powdered sugar. Buy the one without numbers/letters (3x, 10x or xxx). I'll have to try it someday. Thanks, Dodibug!

Marknrox, LOL!

I live in North Florida and I haven't had luck finding powdered sugar at our Walmart since Thanksgiving. And I thought it was just our Walmart being slack. Same with Winn-Dixie. As sad as it sounds at least it's not just me-lol. I found 2 boxes this week finally but that's all they had here at our Walmart. Hopefully the sugar industry will hurry and get their stuff together. I plan on making lots of cakes this year now that I found this site. Hehe.

That is so weird-my instructor told us to use 10x and to only use the brand name. You definitely want to use a one that has been sifted (that's what the 4 or 10 means-how many times it was sifted-if I remember right). It will make for a smoother icing.

What was the instructor's rationale for telling you not to use the 10x???

I have no problem finding and i am in NC.

Surfergina,

My wilton Instructor told us to ALWAYS use the 10X!
How Bizarre!
Anyway, here in the Cincinnati area it's relatively easy to find. Domino is name brand around here, but I've used the sams Brand with good results also.

I live in NC and I have no problem finding powered sugar. I usually use the Bakers and chefs from Sam's club and I haven't had A problem with it. So my advice is to try different kinds until you find the one you like. Good luck.!!

You know, I love this site. After all these years I finally know why things don't always turn out with "cheap Sugar". It never dawned on me that it may be beet sugar. DUH! Anyway I did a cake with "cheep sugar" once, they were out of the regular brand(Domino). My brother asked me later what I had done different. He let me know that it wasn't up to my normal standards. So I have kept a good stock of the Good stuff ever since. BTW no shortage here in WV.

Loriemoms - Is Costco the same as Sam's? I'm glad to hear they have plenty of powered sugar stock. I'm so relieved to hear that.

Dodibug/Loriemoms - the reason why our instructor here said not to use 10x because it only work for donut or bread glazing - too watery for making icing. I'll try it myself and see how it looks and taste.

Sherry0565 - our brand name here in FL is Dixie Sugar. We don't carry Domino sugar except for the brown sugar.

Boy, am I glad that I'm moving to NC - I won't have much trouble find it! It's like being an Amazing Race tv show contestant!

Hi all, I also live in Florida. I'm in the Orlando area, and I just bought some boxes of Domino 10x and Dixie Crystals 10x because I can't find the bags either and because those are two brands that list "pure cane" on the package. I didn't even know about beet sugar and everything until I started the Wilton course 3 weeks ago. I just want to know why the boxes are a "no no" as someone else said. I know it's cheaper by the bag, but is there another reason? Also, I don't sift it if it's 10x. Is that wrong? Should I be sifting?

I used to sift my 10x powdered sugar, I just recently stopped and haven't noticed a bit of difference, I figure why waste the time.

I don't know why you can't buy it in a box, besides it doesn't go very far when making icing.

Also there is a definite difference between beet and cane sugar! My husband is a chemist and has confirmed this for me. The structure is different. It is really hard to get it to carmelize it goes to crystal instead. Also brown sugar in particular is processed completely different. Beet sugar is refined and then sprayed with molasses while cane is derived naturally.

You may not notice a lot of difference in icing, just a very slight chalky taste, and cake, but when making candy you notice a huge difference, it completely ruins it.

I'm a sifter but others have posted that they don't sift if it's 10x so just personal preference and what your experience is with each method!

It had been my experience that the boxes were always lumpy. I hadn't
bought the boxes for years. Just recently I needed a small amount to roll cookies in at Christmas, the rural neighborhood store only had the boxes. It now has a sealed plastic bag inside the box. I was surprised. It worked great for the cookies, and if I had to, I would use it for icing.

If I recall correctly, as pointed out here on CC, 10x refers to the size of the sieve or sifter they use. The larger the number, the smaller the holes in it or the finer it's sifted. It has nothing to do with how many times they sift it.

Also, it has nothing to do with the watery comment the Wilton instructor said. If nothing else, it's BETTER for the icing to have a higher number! Wilton says not to use beet sugar, but nothing about the x numbers. I think he/she is just going off one bad experience or something. There is nothing to back that claim up.

In my personal experience, I don't usually sift unless it's lumpy. And that's only when I've packed it into the container or it's been sitting around a while. I think whether or not to sift is something you learn as you go. Some people sift every time and swear by it and some never sift and don't see a need. I think it's something you do on a case by case basis.

Kelly

Thanks Kelly! I couldn't remember what I had read!!

Seems like everytime I don't sift I get a lump in a decorating tip! Our instructor didn't mention the number factor (3x, 10x, etc). Just said always to use cane sugar. I knew there was a difference but had never thought about it. Remember the old commercial "Pure cane sugar from Hawaii"? Anyway, I use both and have had no complaint. I tried reading all the bags to see what kind it was but sometimes it doesn't say! What my pet peeve is these days is how 5# of sugar suddenly became 4# of sugar and 3# of coffee became 39 oz. of coffee. Anyone else have that pet peeve?