Calories in Brown Sugar, Icing Sugar and Syrups

By NYUS Inc. · Published 28 October 2026

Brown sugar, icing sugar and syrups go into baking, desserts and drinks by the spoon, and the number depends on the spoon as much as on the sugar. This guide gives eight sweetener records from the SR Legacy table of USDA FoodData Central (brown, powdered and granulated sugar, maple, light and dark corn syrup, molasses and agave syrup), with every spoon, cup and cube weight printed on their record pages. IFCT 2017, the Indian Food Composition Tables from ICMR-NIN, has no row for any of them; only its jaggery row is shown as a comparison, and its kJ are converted to kcal by us. White sugar, jaggery and honey per teaspoon are in our spoon guide.

The short answer

By the SR Legacy records, 1 teaspoon of packed brown sugar (4.6 g) is 17.5 kcal, 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar (2.5 g) 9.7 kcal, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (20 g) 52.0 kcal and 1 tablespoon of molasses (20 g) 58.0 kcal. Our reading: the spoon weight changes the number as much as the sugar does. SR Legacy 168833 prints a packed teaspoon as 4.6 g and an unpacked one as 3 g, 17.5 and 11.4 kcal for the same brown sugar.

SR Legacy: per 100 g

Every figure below is as printed on the record page. The record names are the dataset's own. "Total sugars" is the record's own line.

SR Legacy: per printed portion

Each figure is our arithmetic on exact weights: kcal or total sugars per 100 g times the grams, divided by 100, with the exact product in the sums line and the result shown to 0.1 with half rounding up. Every weight below is printed on the SR Legacy record page; none is ours.

The sums: 168833 380 × 220 / 100 = 836, so 836.0 kcal; sugars 97 × 220 / 100 = 213.4, so 213.4 g; 168833 380 × 4.6 / 100 = 17.48, so 17.5 kcal; sugars 97 × 4.6 / 100 = 4.462, so 4.5 g; 168833 380 × 145 / 100 = 551, so 551.0 kcal; sugars 97 × 145 / 100 = 140.65, so 140.7 g; 168833 380 × 3 / 100 = 11.4, so 11.4 kcal; sugars 97 × 3 / 100 = 2.91, so 2.9 g; 168833 380 × 3.2 / 100 = 12.16, so 12.2 kcal; sugars 97 × 3.2 / 100 = 3.104, so 3.1 g; 169656 389 × 100 / 100 = 389, so 389.0 kcal; sugars 97.8 × 100 / 100 = 97.8, so 97.8 g; 169656 389 × 2.5 / 100 = 9.725, so 9.7 kcal; sugars 97.8 × 2.5 / 100 = 2.445, so 2.4 g; 169656 389 × 8 / 100 = 31.12, so 31.1 kcal; sugars 97.8 × 8 / 100 = 7.824, so 7.8 g; 169656 389 × 120 / 100 = 466.8, so 466.8 kcal; sugars 97.8 × 120 / 100 = 117.36, so 117.4 g; 169661 260 × 20 / 100 = 52, so 52.0 kcal; sugars 60.5 × 20 / 100 = 12.1, so 12.1 g; 169661 260 × 315 / 100 = 819, so 819.0 kcal; sugars 60.5 × 315 / 100 = 190.575, so 190.6 g; 169661 260 × 83 / 100 = 215.8, so 215.8 kcal; sugars 60.5 × 83 / 100 = 50.215, so 50.2 g; 168820 290 × 20 / 100 = 58, so 58.0 kcal; sugars 74.7 × 20 / 100 = 14.94, so 14.9 g; 168820 290 × 337 / 100 = 977.3, so 977.3 kcal; sugars 74.7 × 337 / 100 = 251.739, so 251.7 g; 168837 283 × 22 / 100 = 62.26, so 62.3 kcal; sugars 76.8 × 22 / 100 = 16.896, so 16.9 g; 168837 283 × 341 / 100 = 965.03, so 965.0 kcal; sugars 76.8 × 341 / 100 = 261.888, so 261.9 g; 168836 286 × 328 / 100 = 938.08, so 938.1 kcal; sugars 77.6 × 328 / 100 = 254.528, so 254.5 g; 168836 286 × 20 / 100 = 57.2, so 57.2 kcal; sugars 77.6 × 20 / 100 = 15.52, so 15.5 g; 170277 310 × 6.9 / 100 = 21.39, so 21.4 kcal; sugars 68 × 6.9 / 100 = 4.692, so 4.7 g; 170277 310 × 55 / 100 = 170.5, so 170.5 kcal; sugars 68 × 55 / 100 = 37.4, so 37.4 g; 169655 387 × 200 / 100 = 774, so 774.0 kcal; sugars 99.8 × 200 / 100 = 199.6, so 199.6 g; 169655 387 × 2.3 / 100 = 8.901, so 8.9 kcal; sugars 99.8 × 2.3 / 100 = 2.2954, so 2.3 g; 169655 387 × 4.2 / 100 = 16.254, so 16.3 kcal; sugars 99.8 × 4.2 / 100 = 4.1916, so 4.2 g; 169655 387 × 2.8 / 100 = 10.836, so 10.8 kcal; sugars 99.8 × 2.8 / 100 = 2.7944, so 2.8 g.

IFCT 2017: jaggery, for comparison

IFCT 2017, Table 1 (Proximate Principles), per 100 g, PDF p. 56. The row averages 6 regions. IFCT 2017 says all its data except poultry and egg pertains to raw food (PDF p. 27). IFCT prints energy in kilojoules; kcal is our conversion at 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ, shown to 0.1 kcal with half rounding up. IFCT has no teaspoon weight, and we do not combine this row with the SR Legacy records.

The conversion: I001 1480 / 4.184 = 353.7284894837476099426386233, so 353.7 kcal.

What stands out in the numbers

• Energy per 100 g, SR Legacy: 169656 (powdered sugar) 389 kcal, 169655 (granulated sugar) 387, 168833 (brown sugar) 380, 170277 (agave syrup) 310, 168820 (molasses) 290, 168836 (dark corn syrup) 286, 168837 (light corn syrup) 283 and 169661 (maple syrup) 260.
• Total sugars per 100 g, SR Legacy: 169655 99.8 g, 169656 97.8 g, 168833 97 g, 168836 77.6 g, 168837 76.8 g, 168820 74.7 g, 170277 68 g and 169661 60.5 g.
• A cup is not a spoon: SR Legacy 168833 prints a packed cup of brown sugar as 220 g, 836.0 kcal, against 17.5 kcal for a packed teaspoon.
• Sifted is not unsifted: SR Legacy 169656 prints 1 cup sifted as 100 g and 1 cup unsifted as 120 g, 389.0 and 466.8 kcal.

Why these are reference rows, not your packet

• Names are the records'. We say "icing sugar" for the record "Sugars, powdered". We do not say that a packet of icing sugar, a bakery brown sugar, a bottle of maple-flavoured syrup or a jar of molasses matches any record.
• Every portion here is printed. No spoon, cube or cup weight on this page is ours: each is printed on its record page, and the only weight that is ours is the labelled 10 g example in the logging section.
• The records' own notes. The record pages mark the energy and carbohydrate of all eight records "Calculated"; total sugars "Analytical" on 168833, 169656, 170277 and 169655, and "Nutrient that is based on other nutrient/s; value used directly, ex. Nut.#204 from Nut.#298" on 169661, 168820, 168837 and 168836. Protein and fat are "Analytical" on all but 168820 (protein "Label claim (back calculated from label by NDL staff; Calculated from label claim/serving (g or %RDI)", fat no note) and 168836 (no note).
• Add-ins are separate. Cream, butter, flour or fruit in the same recipe are not in these records; add each by its own weight.
• For a packaged product, the pack wins. This page uses no pack labels.

How to log it so the numbers hold

• Log by weight. 10 g of powdered sugar (our example weight, not a dataset value) on SR Legacy 169656 is 389 × 10 / 100 = 38.9, so 38.9 kcal.
• Use the spoon the record prints. If you log brown sugar by the teaspoon, pick packed or unpacked to match the record; they differ.
• Tea and coffee sugar. Granulated sugar in a cup of chai is in our chai and coffee guide, and jaggery and honey in our jaggery and sugar guide.
• Do not mix datasets inside one day. If you log a sweetener from SR Legacy, keep to that record for the same recipe.

Where NYUS fits (our app)

We make NYUS, so read this as ours. NYUS is an AI fitness and nutrition coach in early access on Android, with no ads and no data selling. You log foods yourself by searching 8,900+ Indian and global foods or by barcode, and a weekly check-in adjusts your calories, macros and step goal once enough is logged. Barcode coverage of Indian packaged foods is not complete, so search by name when a scan finds nothing.

What this page leaves out

• A sugar or calorie limit, and any claim about what sugar or syrup does to your weight, blood sugar or health: we have not looked up one for any person, so we give none. If you have a medical condition, ask your doctor or dietitian.
• Any named brand, pack label or FSSAI figure: not used, so the page does not mix label numbers with the records above.
• Mishri (rock sugar), jaggery powder, stevia and other sugar substitutes, honey and sugar syrup: none is among the records used here, so no number, except as stated for granulated sugar. Honey and jaggery are in our spoon guide.
• Sweets, cakes and drinks made with these sweeteners: no dish number; see our cake guide for the bakery rows.
• Nutrients beyond energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and total sugars: not covered here.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168833 (Sugars, brown): Energy 380 kcal (1590 kJ), protein 0.12 g, total fat 0 g, carbohydrate 98.1 g, total sugars 97 g per 100 g; portions: 1 cup packed 220 g, 1 tsp packed 4.6 g, 1 cup unpacked 145 g, 1 tsp unpacked 3 g, 1 tsp brownulated 3.2 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 169656 (Sugars, powdered): Energy 389 kcal (1630 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 0 g, carbohydrate 99.8 g, total sugars 97.8 g per 100 g; portions: 1 cup sifted 100 g, 1 tsp 2.5 g, 1 tbsp unsifted 8 g, 1 cup unsifted 120 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 169661 (Syrups, maple): Energy 260 kcal (1090 kJ), protein 0.04 g, total fat 0.06 g, carbohydrate 67 g, total sugars 60.5 g per 100 g; portions: 1 tbsp 20 g, 1 cup 315 g, 1 serving 1/4 cup 83 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168820 (Molasses): Energy 290 kcal (1210 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 0.1 g, carbohydrate 74.7 g, total sugars 74.7 g per 100 g; portions: 1 serving 1 tbsp 20 g, 1 cup 337 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168837 (Syrups, corn, light): Energy 283 kcal (1180 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 0.2 g, carbohydrate 76.8 g, total sugars 76.8 g per 100 g; portions: 1 tbsp 22 g, 1 cup 341 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168836 (Syrups, corn, dark): Energy 286 kcal (1200 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 0 g, carbohydrate 77.6 g, total sugars 77.6 g per 100 g; portions: 1 cup 328 g, 1 tbsp 20 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170277 (Sweetener, syrup, agave): Energy 310 kcal (1300 kJ), protein 0.09 g, total fat 0.45 g, carbohydrate 76.4 g, total sugars 68 g per 100 g; portions: 1 tsp 6.9 g, 0.25 cup 55 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 169655 (Sugars, granulated): Energy 387 kcal (1620 kJ), protein 0 g, total fat 0 g, carbohydrate 100 g, total sugars 99.8 g per 100 g; portions: 1 cup 200 g, 1 serving 1 cube 2.3 g, 1 tsp 4.2 g, 1 serving packet 2.8 g (read 28 Oct 2026).
• ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017), Table 1 (Proximate Principles and Dietary Fibre): I001 Jaggery, cane (PDF p. 56), read 28 Oct 2026; the raw-food statement is on PDF p. 27; the PDF text searched for brown sugar, powdered sugar, icing sugar, maple, molasses, corn syrup, sugar cube and mishri: no food row.
• nyus.in, the NYUS landing page, read on 28 Oct 2026 for the app statements in the NYUS section and the CTA.

The kJ to kcal conversion, the per portion figures, the sums, the rounding, the comparisons and every sentence starting "Our reading" are NYUS's own arithmetic or opinion, not from IFCT or USDA. The IFCT values and the SR Legacy portion weights are as printed in those datasets. The names in the first column are the datasets' own row and record names.

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