Sugar

< < <

Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees

Sugar

Closeup of raw (unrefined, unbleached) sugar Sugar is the generalised name for a class of chemically-related sweet-flavored substances, most of which are used as food. They are carbohydrates , composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Sucrose

Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar and sometimes called saccharose . A white, odorless, crystalline powder with a sweet taste, it is best known for its nutritional role. The molecule is a disaccharide composed of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose with the molecular formula C 12 H 22 O 11 . The word was formed in mid-19th century from Latin sucrum = "sugar" and the chemical suffix -ose . The abbreviated term Suc is often used for sucrose in the literature.

Sugar substitute

Sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris L) root, leaf, and flowering patterns Sugar beet , cultivated Beta vulgaris , is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose . It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B. vulgaris cultivars, such as beetroot and chard , share a common wild ancestor, the sea beet ( Beta vulgaris maritima ). [ 1 ] In 2009 France, the United States, Germany, Russia and Turkey were the world's five largest sugar beet producers; [ 2 ] however, in 2010-2011, North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe did not produce enough sugar from sugar beets, and were all net importers of sugar. [ 3 ] The US harvested 1,004,600 acres (4,065 km²) of sugarbeets in 2008. [ 4 ] In 2009 sugar beets accounted for 20% of the world's sugar production. [ 5 ] [ edit ] Description

Sugar beet

Sugarcane

Sugarcane , or Sugar cane , is any of six to 37 species (depending on which taxonomic system is used) of tall perennial true grasses of the genus Saccharum , tribe Andropogoneae , native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia . They have stout jointed fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar , and measure two to six metres (6 to 19 feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids .

Sugar substitute

A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste , usually with less food energy . Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners. An important class of sugar substitutes are known as high-intensity sweeteners . These are compounds with many times the sweetness of sucrose , common table sugar. As a result, much less sweetener is required and energy contribution is often negligible .

Corn syrup on a black surface Corn syrup is a food syrup , which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides , depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor. Corn syrup is distinct from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is created when corn syrup undergoes enzymatic processing, producing a sweeter compound that contains higher levels of fructose .

Corn syrup

Structural formulae of fructose (left) and glucose (right) High-fructose corn syrup ( HFCS )—also called glucose/fructose in Canada , [ 1 ] glucose–fructose syrup (GFS) in the EU , [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and high-fructose maize syrup in other countries—comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness . In the United States sugar prices are two to three times higher than in the rest of the world [ 4 ] , which makes HFCS significantly cheaper, so that it is the principal sweetener used in processed foods and beverages [ 5 ] .