All that glitters is not sugar

Call it chemistry for grownups if you like: Our sugar bowl was empty and I was desperate for sugar for my Sunday morning coffee. I pondered all my available alternatives: confectioners sugar, maple syrup, crushed Sweet-Tarts^®, Jello mix…. I finally decided my best option was decorative cake sprinkles. It's just colored sugar after all, right?

Wrong! As I watched a greasy, semi-solid scum envelop my espresso, I realized perhaps cake sprinkles are not sugar at all. Turns out, they are actually dyed slivers of carnauba wax, sprayed with confectioner glaze to harden it and make it twinkle. Sure, there's a nominal amount of sugar mixed in to make it sweet, but I now know it's mostly car wax. Delicious!