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Sugar Basics
So what are sucrose, glucose
and fructose? Sucrose is the
chemical name for refined
white sugar, it's composed
of one molecule each of
glucose and fructose,
sucrose is a disaccharide.
FYI, glucose is a simple
sugar, monosaccharide, and
an important carbohydrate
and fructose, fruit sugar,
is a simple monosaccharide
found in many plants.
Common table sugar is
usually produced from sugar
cane or sugar beets.
Essentially the sugar cane
or beet, is crushed to
extract the juice. Because
this juice contains tannins,
pigments and other
impurities, they must be
removed through refinement.
First the juice is dissolved
in water then boiled in
large steam powered
evaporators. The solution is
then crystallized by heating
it in large pans in a vacuum
chamber to avoid darkening.
The by-product of this stage
is known as molasses, which
is separated out by a
centrifuge. The remaining
crystallized product, known
as raw sugar, contains many
impurities and isnt ready
to be consumed yet, although
it wont kill you! This raw
sugar is washed with steam
to remove many of the
impurities. The result is
turbinado sugar.
Turbinado sugar is now
reheated, liquefied,
centrifuged and filtered
through charcoal or
diatomaceous earth, sand
like fossilized shells, this
filtered and purified liquid
sugar is ready for the next
step. Finally then, the
clear liquid sugar is
re-crystallized in pan under
vacuum, its now granulated
white sugar.
So let's
recap. Turbinado sugar is
also known as demerrara
sugar and is the closest
sugar to raw sugar. It's
partially refined and has a
light brown color with
coarse crystals and somewhat
of a caramel flavor. The
purified version of it is
called sanding sugar, is
used in pastry shops,
particularly on sugar
cookies and is rarely sold
in supermarkets. We all are
familiar with granulated
all-purpose sugar and sugar
cubes, which are made by
pressing moistened
granulated sugar into moles
and allowing it to dry.
Brown sugar is simply
regular refined cane sugar
with molasses added to it;
light brown sugar contains
about 3 1/2% molasses, dark
brown, about 6 1/2%.
Superfine sugar, caster
sugar, as it's known in
England or even bar sugar
here in the United States is
a very small size granulated
sugar. Its sugar that has
been put through very large
food processors for a few
moments and it dissolves
quickly in liquids. It's
used in mixed drinks and
iced tea and produces light,
tender cakes like genoise.
Powdered sugar or
confectioners' sugar is made
by grinding granulated sugar
and pressing it through
various sizes of screens, 3%
cornstarch is added to
prevent caking, making it
even more powder like.
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