What is sukre sugar made of?

What is Sucre Sugar Made Of?

Sugarcane, also known as Saccharum officinarum, is a genus of plants that belongs to the family of grasses. It is a biennial crop that is used to produce a sweet crystalline substance, commonly referred to as sugarcane sugar. But what is sucre sugar made of? What are the natural components of this sweet delight? And how is it extracted?

The Basic Components

Sugarcane juice, which is the most common source of sugar production, is a mixture of water (95% to 98%) and sucrose. Sucrose, also known as table sugar, is a disaccharide composed of two simple sugars: fructose and glucose.

Physical Structure

When we harvest sugarcane, it is typically 3-4 meters long and is made up of a number of node-stems. The node stems are the source of juice extraction, where the sugarcane cane is crushed and squeezed to release the juice. This juice, also known as limp juice, contains dissolved sugars, amino acids, and other solids.

Major Components of Sugarcane Juice:

Chemical Composition

As mentioned earlier, sugarcane juice is primarily composed of sucrose, but it also contains other impurities. These impurities can come from various sources, such as:

• Residual soil and plant material
• Nitrates, which come from fertilizers
• Pesticide and herbicide residues
• Heavy metals, which can be naturally present or introduced through water and irrigation systems

These impurities can affect the quality, taste, and color of the sugar. To remove impurities, several steps are involved in sugar production, including:

Step 1: Centrifugation
Centrifuges separate the juiced sugarcane pulp from the clear juice by spinning it at high speed.

Step 2: Clarification
Additives like calcium oxide and carbon dioxide help to break down impurities and increase the juice’s clarity and stability.

Step 3: Crystallization
Under controlled temperatures and humidity levels, the water content in the juice freezes, allowing crystals to form.

What is Crystallization?

Crystallization occurs when a saturated solution becomes supersaturated. In sugarcane processing, sucrose crystals precipitate from the solution due to evaporation, leaving behind residual impurities and other nonsugar compounds. The larger crystals are harvested, and refining steps occur to remove additional impurities.

Sucrose versus Refined Sugar

Refined sugar has been bleached to whiteness and stripped of natural brown color and taste to have a higher glucose to fructose ratio. Refining the sugar involves chemical treatment of the crystals with activated charcoal, bone meal, and other substances. This creates a lower glycemic index than raw sucre sugar.