The world around us has become so familiar that we often don’t even notice the little things that make up our lives. For example, if you want to drink tea or coffee, we safely take sugar to enhance the taste. But what is this substance? What color is sugar? Does it shine? Indeed, on the shelves in the store there is such a variety of this product. Much depends on the type of product. If we talk about the color of crystalline sugar, then it is white, and if it is cane, then the options can be different.
Important food product
There are several types of sucrose, which in everyday life is called sugar. It has a high nutritional value, as it is an easily digestible carbohydrate. Once in the body, it is split into two components (fructose and glucose), and immediately enters the bloodstream. Thanks to this, a person is able to live, since glucose is the source of more than half of all the energy that the body needs during the day. But its concentration should not exceed the norm, because this can lead to serious diseases. Glucose has the opposite effect in case of poisoning or some liver diseases. It favorably affects this organ, so it is sometimes injected directly into a vein. In many countries of the world sugar is the main component for the preparation of products in the confectionery industry. For example, caramel, meringues and dragees consist of 80-95% of this sweet substance, chocolate and sweets - 50%, flour - 30-40%. The color of sugar can be different, it depends on what raw material it was made from and whether additional bleaching took place.
Discovery story
India is the birthplace of everyone's favorite sugar. This word itself has ancient Indian roots, but it fell into the Russian language from Greek. The European pioneers of this product were the Romans. They bought it at home and brought it to their lands. Egypt acted as a mediator in such trade, which at that time was a province of the Roman Empire. This product was made from sugar cane. First, the juice was extracted, and then, during the processing, sweet grains appeared. The color of the sugar that was obtained was brown.
Over time, the Romans began to grow reeds in southern Spain and Sicily, but with the collapse of their state, all production was stopped. In Russia, sugar first appeared in the XI-XII centuries. But only a select few knew his taste, namely the prince and his retinue. Peter I decided that it was necessary to manufacture this product in his country and opened the first “sugar chamber” in the XVIII century, but it was not so simple. After all, raw materials still had to be imported from overseas countries. In 1809, a breakthrough was made in this area, since it was discovered that sugar can be obtained from the local root crop - beets. Since then, this product has not left the tables of all the inhabitants of Russia, and the amount of its consumption is growing every year.
Brown sugar
As mentioned above, this type of sweet is made from cane. The crystals are covered with molasses (molasses feed), which determines the color and smell of sugar. The technology is quite simple (syrup is made, and then it is boiled), but still it has its own specifics. There are quite a few varieties of brown sugar. They differ among themselves in the amount of molasses that is present in the crystals. Often, due to the specific shades, this species is called "coffee" or "tea." Manufacturers position this product as more elite and environmentally friendly, which increases its price. But nutritionists warn: due to the fact that sugar is not refined, unwanted impurities may be included in its composition, and the caloric content of such a product is no lower than usual. Often the desired color of sugar is achieved by bleaching with carbonic acid or sulfur dioxide.
Beetroot Making
The pioneer in this field is Andreas Margrave, who published his work in 1747. It talked about the potential extraction of sugar from beet root crops. He also described the order of this process, which has survived to this day. His disciple Ahardu tried to build a factory for the production of this sweetness, but failed. Only in 1806, on the instructions of Napoleon, the production process was established. He believed that this would help France become more independent and not dependent on foreign imports.
The first plant for the production of this raw material in Russia was built in 1806, but the resulting product was suitable only for distillation into alcohol. And in 1897, there were already 236 factories operating throughout the country, which together produced up to 45 million pounds of sugar per year. The manufacturing technology of this product from beets is as follows: by diffusion from the root crop, syrup is extracted, it is passed through filters to separate the pulp, the liquid is heated to 60 degrees, while separating excess water. Then the juice is purified using lime and carbonic acid. The resulting concentrate is evaporated until crystals appear, codified and placed in centrifuges that separate the desired product from molasses. The resulting substance is dried and sugar with a different concentration of sucrose is obtained.
What color sugar beets are allowed for sale? The correct answer is white, only a slight shade of yellowness is likely.
Organoleptic properties
Organoleptic is a method that allows you to determine the quality of the product with the help of the senses, namely vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Most often in Russia sugar is made in the form of sand. Experts, before allowing the sale of a manufactured product, evaluate what color sugar is, whether it has a luster, what it tastes like. Ideally, it should consist of crystals of the same size and shape, which have pronounced faces and brilliance. The smell and taste of both dry matter and its solution should be sweet, without any impurities. It should be completely dissolved in water, but the color of the water does not change. The color of sugar is white, a slight yellow tint is possible. Mandatory property - flowability, without getting lumps.
Refined
Refined sugar is called additionally refined sugar in the form of pieces. It is made from previously described granulated sugar. Its properties are very similar to those of its "relative". Produce the product using another round of purification and recrystallization. This allows you to make it even more concentrated. After it is sent to the press, which form solid bars, split into pieces. The color and luster of sugar in this case should be white with a possible bluish tint, without impurities, but there are no certain standards here. Taste and smell should also be without impurities, just sweet.
Maple sugar
In addition to the well-known varieties, there are several more that are also available on the market. One of them is maple sugar. Its production began in the 17th century in eastern Canada. The raw material for it is sugar maple juice . In February and March, the trunks of this tree are drilled to extract fluid that begins to flow from a hole. It contains up to 3% sugar. The flowing process continues for several weeks, which allows you to collect a fairly large amount of the required juice. It is subjected to processing, namely evaporation, as a result of which “maple syrup” is obtained, and the final product is already extracted from it. One tree per year can bring 3 to 6 pounds of sugar.
The local population has long switched to this sweetener, having forgotten about the overseas options. Moreover, it is several times sweeter than usual. If we talk about what color sugar should be, then we can say with confidence that it is brown, since maple syrup has exactly these shades. In addition, this sweetener is very useful, as it is rich in B vitamins.
Palm sugar
In the south and southeast of Asia, another type of sugar is produced - palm, or raspberry. Various types of palm trees are suitable for this. On young ears of flowering trees, cuts are made, from which sweet juice flows. Often a coconut tree is chosen for such a production, but a good crop can also be harvested from arena or date tree. Up to 250 kg of juice is extracted from one plant per year, the sucrose concentration in which reaches 20%. If workers know how to properly care for a tree, then you can use it for many years.
Just like in other technologies, evaporation is used here, but it is done in a coconut shell, which gives the product a semicircular shape. The producers themselves use it to a greater extent, that is, local residents. If you wonder what color the sugar produced in this way has, then you can answer that it is brown. If you add it to tea or coffee, this will make the drink not only sweet, but also give it an unrivaled aroma.
Sorghum Sugar
Already in ancient China there was a practice to get a sweetener from sorghum. During the American Civil War, England blocked the supply of cane sugar to the northern states. This led to the spread of another species, namely sorghum. But after these events, production was not established, because from the point of view of raw material, this plant is quite uncomfortable. And the difficulty is that the juice obtained is rich not only in sucrose, but also in various mineral salts, which prevent the formation of pure crystals. But in regions where drought lasts most of the year, sorghum can be a very worthy substitute for other sources of sugar. Moreover, for its cultivation does not require special machines or mechanisms. On the shelves of the store this product is very difficult to find, but you should remember that the color of sugar should be amber. More often it is sold in the form of syrup.
Thus, sugar is a substance that has firmly entered our lives. In order to determine its quality, experts pay attention to such indicators as taste, shape, smell and color of sugar. Photos of its various types can be found on the pages of magazines about proper nutrition. This will help you choose a better product. It should also be remembered that the color of salt and sugar is significantly different: salt is pure white, and sugar may have a shade of yellow or even be brown, depending on the type.