More About Beghin Say
Béghin Say is a long-established French sugar brand whose name goes back to two nineteenth-century sugar refiners. At Epicerie Corner you can buy the everyday Béghin Say sugars used in French recipes, from fine sucre en poudre and jam-making crystal sugar to La Perruche cane sugar and Flemish-style vergeoise, delivered across the UK.
The Story of Béghin Say
The name joins two nineteenth-century sugar houses. The Say refinery was set up by Louis Say in Nantes in 1812, and Béghin grew from a business founded in 1821 in Thumeries, in the north of France, by Joseph Coget and his son-in-law Antoine Béghin. The two companies merged in 1972 to form Béghin-Say.
Since 2002 the brand has belonged to Tereos, a French cooperative group owned by sugar beet growers. That beet heritage shows in the range: the white sugars are beet sugars, and the packs of Béghin Say Powdered Sugar describe a sugar grown and produced in France. The cane sugars, sold under the La Perruche (parakeet) and Blonvilliers names, give the brand a second, amber-coloured side.
Béghin Say Sugars in Our Range
White sugars for baking and jam
Sucre en poudre is France's everyday baking sugar, with fine crystals that dissolve quickly in batters, creams and yoghurt. We stock it in two easy-pour formats: the Powdered Sugar Bec Doypack 750g and the Powdered Sugar Spout 1kg box. Beghin Say Crystal Sugar 1kg has a larger grain; Béghin Say presents it as the traditional sugar for homemade jams and for long bakes such as pound cake.
La Perruche and Blonvilliers cane sugars
La Perruche cane sugar pieces (listed as Parakeet Cane Sugar in Pieces 750g) are the irregular amber lumps familiar from French cafés, made from cane sugar and caramelised cane sugar. The Budgie Brown Sugar Powder 750g is La Perruche loose brown cane sugar, a cassonade with crunchy golden crystals. The Blonvilliers Blond Pure Cane Small Pieces 1kg are smaller, regular lumps of blond cane sugar for coffee and tea.
Vergeoise blonde and brune
Vergeoise is a soft, moist sugar with caramel notes, a speciality of northern France and Belgium. The blonde is lighter and milder; the brune is darker with a stronger caramel taste. Béghin Say's Vergeoise Blonde Sugar 500g and Vergeoise Brune 500g are sold as Saveur Vergeoise and made from sugar, invert sugar syrup and caramelised sugar.
How to Choose the Right French Sugar
- For cakes, crêpes and desserts: sucre en poudre, which behaves much like British caster sugar.
- For jams and long bakes: crystal sugar, whose larger grain dissolves more slowly.
- For a caramelised crust: cassonade, scattered over crème brûlée, apple tarts or fruit crumbles before baking or grilling.
- For soft, chewy texture and caramel flavour: vergeoise, in cookies, tarte au sucre or on crêpes.
- For hot drinks: La Perruche irregular pieces for a caramel note, or Blonvilliers small pieces when you want a smaller, even dose.
Baking French Classics with Béghin Say
Many French recipes assume these sugars. A tarte au sucre, the sugar tart of northern France and Belgium, is traditionally topped with vergeoise, which melts into a caramel layer over a brioche-like base. Crêpes for La Chandeleur are often finished with a sprinkle of sucre en poudre or vergeoise and a squeeze of lemon. Crème brûlée needs an even layer of cassonade, caramelised under a hot grill or a blowtorch, and summer fruit jams start with crystal sugar and ripe fruit.
Store all sugars in a cool, dry place and close the pack after use. Vergeoise is naturally moist, so keep it tightly sealed to stop it from hardening. For flour, raising agents and other baking basics, see our Home Baking range, or compare other brands in Sugar.
Béghin Say Sugar FAQs
Is French sucre en poudre the same as icing sugar?
No. Sucre en poudre translates literally as powdered sugar, but it is a fine granulated sugar, closer to British caster sugar. Icing sugar is called sucre glace in France. Use the Béghin Say Powdered Sugar packs wherever a recipe calls for caster or granulated sugar, not for icing or dusting.
What is the difference between cassonade and vergeoise?
Cassonade is a dry brown cane sugar with crunchy crystals, good for topping desserts. Vergeoise is a soft, moist sugar associated with beet sugar country in northern France and Belgium, with a fudgy texture and a pronounced caramel taste that works inside doughs, biscuits and tarts.
Can I use vergeoise instead of soft brown sugar?
Generally yes. Vergeoise blonde can stand in for light soft brown sugar and vergeoise brune for dark soft brown sugar in most cookie, cake and sauce recipes, since all are moist sugars with caramel notes. Expect a slightly different flavour, and press it into the spoon when measuring.
Who owns Béghin Say today?
Béghin Say belongs to Tereos, a French sugar group organised as a cooperative of sugar beet growers. Tereos was formed in 2002 when grower-owned sugar companies acquired Béghin-Say.