First ohn/using light brown sugar
I am making my 1st batch of OHN. I am using light brown cane sugar, is there any problems using light brown sugar vs dark and what should I be using in the future. Thanks for the help!
Top answer
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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5 sources
The library does not compare light and dark brown sugar. It does say what to use.
Drake's sources call for brown sugar in OHN. Brown sugar brings the jar to two-thirds, then it ferments five to seven days. (Office Hours Ep. 60, 29:24)
- For dried herbs, add enough brown sugar to bring each jar to 2/3 full. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 25)
- For ginger and garlic, the Student's Manual adds equal weight of brown sugar. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 25) A later Office Hours calls a 1:1 ratio too much and gives one-third sugar to material. (Office Hours Ep. 24, 45:23) The two sources disagree.
Drake recommends organic sugar for ferments. Roundup before harvest is a microbicide, so crush granular sugar first so it saturates. (Office Hours Ep. 6, 10:43)
Brown sugar and molasses come from the same cane juice. (Office Hours Ep. 157, 46:00)
Sources
- 29:24 Office Hours Ep. 60 (Dec 2022) — Master Cho's OHN Recipe, Herb Ratios, and Pig Deep Litter · “brown sugar brings it to two-thirds, then ferment five to seven days”
- 46:00 Office Hours Ep. 157 (Jan 2025) — Root Nutrient Columns, IMO Box Ratios, Tillage and Soil Carbon · “boiling sugar cane juice down is what makes molasses or brown sugar”
- 10:43 Office Hours Ep. 6 (Nov 2021) — IMO4 Degreaser, Pig Pen Biochar, Maltose Growth Stimulant · “Roundup before harvest is a microbicide; crush granular sugar first so it saturates properly”
- 45:23 Office Hours Ep. 24 (Mar 2022) — Disgustingly Cheap Food, OHN Ginger Ratio, and IMO Smell Check · “use one-third sugar to material, ferment three days, then add alcohol separately”
- p. 25 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “After two days add enough brown sugar to the 4 jars to bring them each to 2/3 full.”
