Glitter and color of sugar (photo). Sugar production and evaluation

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The world around us has become so familiar that we often do not even notice the little things that make up our lives. For example, if you want to drink tea or coffee, we boldly take sugar to enhance the taste. But what is this substance? What color is sugar? Does it have shine? After all, there is such a variety of this product on the shelves in the store. Much depends on the type of this product. If we talk about the color of crystalline sugar, then it is white, and if it is cane, then the options may be different.

Important food

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 has a beneficial effect on this organ, so it is sometimes administered 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, meringue and dragees are 80-95% of this sweet substance, chocolate and sweets - 50%, flour - 30-40%. The color of sugar may vary depending on the raw material it was made from and whether it has undergone additional bleaching.

Discovery history

India is home to everyone's favorite sugar. This word itself has ancient Indian roots, but it came 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, which at that time was a province of the Roman Empire, acted as an intermediary in such trade. This product was made from sugar cane. First, the juice was extracted, and then, in the process of processing, sweet grains appeared. The color of the sugar that came out was brown.

Over time, the Romans began to grow cane in southern Spain and Sicily, but with the collapse of their state, all production was stopped. Sugar first appeared in Russia in the 11th-12th centuries. But only the elite knew his taste, namely the prince and his retinue. Peter I decided that it was necessary to produce this product in his own country and opened the first "sugar chamber" in the 18th century, but everything 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, as it was discovered that sugar could be extracted from a local root crop - beets. Since then, this product has not left the tables.of all residents of Russia and the amount of its consumption is only growing every year.

Brown sugar

As mentioned above, this type of sweet is made from cane. The crystals are covered with molasses (fodder molasses), which is the reason for the color and smell of sugar. The technology is quite simple (a syrup is made, and then it is boiled down), but still it has its own specifics. There are many varieties of brown sugar. They differ among themselves in the amount of molasses that is present in the crystals. Often, because of 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, it may contain unwanted impurities, and the calorie content of such a product is no lower than usual. Often the desired sugar color is achieved by bleaching with carbonic acid or sulfur dioxide.

Production from beets

The pioneer in this field is Andreas Margraf, who published his work in 1747. It talked about the potential extraction of sugar from beet roots. He also described the order of this process, which has come down to our days. His student Ahardu tried to build a plant for the production of this sweet, but failed. Only in 1806, on the instructions of Napoleon, the production process was established. He believed that this would help France become more self-reliant and not depend 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 poods of sugar per year. The technology for manufacturing this product from beets is as follows: syrup is extracted from the root crop by diffusion, passed through filters to separate the pulp, the liquid is heated to 60 degrees, while separating excess water. The juice is then purified with lime and carbonic acid. The resulting concentrate is evaporated until crystals appear, filtered and placed in centrifuges, which separate the desired product from the molasses. The resulting substance is dried and sugar is obtained with different concentrations of sucrose.

What color beet sugar is allowed to be sold? The correct answer is white, probably only a slight shade of yellowness.

Organoleptic properties

Organoleptic is a method that allows you to determine the quality of the product using the senses, namely sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Most often in Russia, sugar is produced in the form of sand. Experts, before allowing the sale of the manufactured product, evaluate what color the sugar is, whether it has a shine, what it tastes like. Ideally, it should consist of crystals of the same size and shape, which have pronounced edges and brilliance. The smell and taste of both the dry substance and its solution should be sweet, without any impurities. It should dissolve in water completely, and the color of the water does not change. sugar color– white, slight yellow tinge is possible. Mandatory property - flowability, without getting lumps.

Refined

Refined sugar is called additionally refined sugar in the form of lumps. It is made from the previously described granulated sugar. Its properties are very similar to those of its "relative". Produce the product with another round of purification and recrystallization. This allows you to make it even more concentrated. After it is sent to the presses, 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 specific standards here. The taste and smell should also be pure, just sweet.

Maple sugar

In addition to the well-known varieties, there are several more that are also 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 sap. In February and March, the trunks of this tree are drilled to extract the liquid that begins to flow from the 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 undergoes 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 produce 3 to 6 pounds of sugar.

The local population has long switched to this sweetener, forgetting about overseasoptions. Moreover, it is several times sweeter than usual. If we talk about what color sugar should be, then we can say with confidence that brown, since maple syrup has just such shades. In addition, this sweetener is very he althy, as it is rich in B vitamins.

Palm sugar

In the south and southeast of Asia, another type of sugar is produced - palm, or jagre. Various types of palms are suitable for this. Incisions are made on the young cobs of flowering trees, from which sweet juice flows. Often, it is the coconut palm that is chosen for such production, but a good harvest can also be harvested from the arenga or date tree. For a year, up to 250 kg of juice is extracted from one plant, the concentration of sucrose in which reaches 20%. If workers know how to properly care for a tree, then it can be used for many years.

As in other technologies, evaporation is used here, but it is done in a coconut shell, which gives the product a semicircular shape. It is mostly consumed by the producers themselves, that is, local residents. If you are wondering what color sugar produced in this way has, then you can answer that it is brown. If you add it to tea or coffee, it will not only make the drink sweet, but also give it an unsurpassed aroma.

Sorghum sugar

Already in ancient China, there was a practice to extract sweetener from sorghum. During the American Civil War, England blocked the supply ofcane sugar to the northern states. This led to the spread of another species, namely sorghum. But after these events, production was never established, because from the point of view of the raw material, this plant is quite inconvenient. And the difficulty lies in the fact that the resulting juice is rich not only in sucrose, but also in various mineral s alts, which prevent the formation of pure crystals. But in regions where the drought lasts most of the year, sorghum can be a very worthy substitute for other sources of sugar. Moreover, its cultivation does not require special machines or mechanisms. It is very difficult to find this product on store shelves, 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 nutrition magazines. This will help you choose a better product. It should also be remembered that the color of s alt and sugar is significantly different: s alt is pure white, while sugar can have a shade of yellow or even be brown, depending on the type.