Below you can find out how sugar (sucrose) is manufactured and the journey it takes from the farm.
Where does sugar come from?
The common ‘sugar’ (sucrose) used is made up from glucose and fructose and is extracted from sugar cane or sugar beet.
Sugar cane is grown in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world, including South Africa, Brazil, India, Mauritius and the West Indies. It is an enormous grass, growing as high as five metres and the sugar is stored in its long stalk as a source of reserve food for the plant.
Sugar beet is a root crop and is grown in more temperate parts of the world. This plant stores sugar not in its stalk, but in its root. It is grown throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, China and many more countries.
Types of Sugar
When you walk down the baking aisle of your local grocery store, you see several different varieties of sugar. Here are their differences.
Granulated Sugar:
Most people use this type of white sugar on a daily basis, and it’s most often used in baking. Granulated sugar has all of the molasses content removed, giving it the white color.
Brown Sugar:
Dark and light brown sugars retain much of the naturally occurring molasses—the more molasses, the darker the sugar.
Golden Sugar:
This is a brand-new sugar recently developed by Domino. It’s a less-processed version of granulated sugar. It retains some of the naturally occurring molasses, but it can be used cup for cup in place of white sugar.
Powdered or Confectioners’ Sugar:
This light, fluffy sugar is made by grinding up granulated sugar and adding a small amount of cornstarch to prevent clumping.
Raw Sugar:
Also called turbinado sugar, this product is usually light brown in color and has larger crystals. It’s filtered only minimally to retain much of its natural molasses content.
