Sugar FAQ's

Common, refined, white granulated sugar is a nearly pure carbohydrate* that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable in the plant kingdom. It is a major product of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert solar energy and atmospheric carbon dioxide into stored food energy, and oxygen. Sugar occurs in greatest quantities in sugar cane and sugar beets.

Chemically sugar is the disaccharide “sucrose” that results from the biochemical bonding of the naturally-occurring monosaccharide molecules “fructose” (also called “levulose” or “fruit sugar”) and dextrose (also called “glucose” or “grape sugar”). This bond is relatively strong, but it is commonly broken by heat, acids, and the enzyme “invertase,” present in human saliva and digestive tracts. The process of splitting sucrose into its two components —fructose and dextrose — is alternatively called “inversion” and “hydrolysis.”

Sugar is a carbohydrate, a substance composed of only carbon (“carb-“), oxygen (“-o-“), and hydrogen (“-hydrate.”). Sucrose, fructose, dextrose, lactose (milk sugar) and other ” -oses” are members of this chemical class. When tens or hundreds of thousands of dextrose monosaccharides are chemically linked (polymerized), the resulting compounds are starch and cellulose.

All carbohydrates — sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch and so-called “complex carbohydrates”— contain the same caloric content: about 4 calories per gram. Neither nature nor human biochemical pathways distinguish calorically between refined table sugar and the sucrose in, say, an orange. The sucrose present in a bowl of table sugar is identical, chemically and metabolically, to the sucrose found in fruits and vegetables.

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There is no difference between the sugar produced from sugar cane or sugar beets. Sugar cane is a giant grass that thrives in a warm, moist climate, storing sugar in its stalk. The sugar beet grows best in a temperate climate and stores its sugar in its yellow-to-white root. Sugar from either source is produced by nature in the same fashion as all green plants produce sugar — as a means of storing the sun’s energy.

The cane, which contains 10-15% sucrose, is ground to extract the juice, which in turn is boiled until the syrup thickens and crystallizes. The crystals are spun in a centrifuge to produce raw sugar. At a refinery, the raw sugar is washed and filtered to remove impurities and colors, and crystallized, dried and packaged.

The beets, which contain 12-18% sucrose, are washed, sliced and soaked in hot water to remove the juice. The sugar-laden juice is purified, filtered, concentrated and dried in a series of steps similar to sugar cane processing.

White sugar is a pure carbohydrate (at least 99%) and contains trace amounts of sodium, potassium, and iron. Brown sugars contain higher amounts of these minerals, as well as calcium and phosphorus.

Like all carbohydrates, sugar contains about 4 calories of food energy per gram. A teaspoon of granulated or brown sugar contains 15 calories, a typical restaurant packet about 10 calories. Powdered sugar contains about 110 calories per quarter-cup.

Besides its pleasant sweetness, sugar performs a host of less-obvious and important functions in cooking, baking, and candy making.

Flavor Enhancement — Sugar “potentiates,” blends, and balances flavor components, much like a seasoning. For example, a pinch of sugar added to corn, carrots, and peas produces a better-tasting product. In most tomato-based products, such as barbecue, spaghetti, and chili sauces, sugar softens the acidity of the tomatoes and blends the flavors.

Solubility — Sugar is readily soluble in water. The ability to produce solutions of varying degrees of sweetness is important in many food applications, particularly beverages and confectionery. Sugar’s capacity to produce a supersaturated solution and then crystallize when cooled is the basis for rock candies. The wonderful variety of confectionery draws from the candy maker’s ability to vary sugar concentration, along with temperature and agitation, to produce different crystal sizes and textures.

Boiling Point Rise, Freezing Point Depression — In solution, sugar has the effect of lowering the freezing point and raising the boiling point of that solution. These are important properties in preparing frozen desserts and candy, respectively. In ice cream, for example, sugar’s ability to depress the freezing point slows the freezing process, promoting a smooth, creamy consistency. In shortening-based cakes, sugar raises, delays and controls the temperature at which the batter goes from fluid to solid, which allows the leavening agent to produce the maximum amount of carbon dioxide. The gas is held inside the air cells of the structure, resulting in a fine, uniformly-grained cake with a soft, smooth crumb texture.

Hydrolysis (inversion) — In food processing, hydrolysis decreases the tendency of sugar to crystallize in thick syrups or jellies.

Caramelization (thermal decomposition) — When sugar is heated to a sufficiently high temperature, it decomposes or “caramelizes.” Its color changes first to yellow, then to brown, and it develops a distinctive and appealing flavor and aroma. The melted substance is known as caramel. The brown color of toasted bread is the result of caramelization.

Browning (Maillard reactions) — Color is also produced in cooking when sugars and proteins interact in complex ways. This is known as the browning (Maillard) reaction, important in candy making, baking, and other processes.

Yeast Fermentation — Sugar is consumed by yeast cells in a thoroughly natural process called “fermentation.” Carbon dioxide gas is released, and alcohol is produced, reactions vital to bread rising and baking and alcoholic beverage production.

Bodying/Bulking Agent — Sugar imparts satisfying texture, body, mouthfeel, and bulk to many processed foods, such as ice cream, baked goods, icings, beverages, and candy.

Texture Modification — For example, as sugar is creamed with shortening in baked goods, the irregularities of the sugar crystals help create air pockets that contribute to a uniformly fine crumb structure. In gingersnaps and sugar cookies, the desirable surface cracking pattern is imparted when sugar crystallizes by rapid loss of moisture from the surface during baking.

Preservative — By binding water, sugar acts as a very effective, natural preservative. For example, the high sugar levels in jams, jellies, and sauces make them more immune to the microorganism development common in thinner, high-moisture products like commercial applesauce. Sugar is the preferred sweetener in cereal coatings because of its ability to crystallize into a frosty surface forming a hard, continuous glaze. This protects the product from air and moisture, extending its shelf life.

Dispersant — In dry beverages, dessert, and bakery mixes, sugar prevents lumping and clumping when the mix is hydrated.

Whipping Aid — In foam-type cakes, such as angel and sponge, sugar enables the creation of a light foam that serves as the basic structure of the cake.

Humectant — When the sucrose molecule is “inverted”, by the application of heat, acids, or enzyme, the resulting fructose (especially) and dextrose contribute a moistening property, desirable in such foods as icings, fudge, cakes, marshmallows, soft cookies, and so forth.

Microwave Properties — Sugar has unique dielectric properties that enable it to produce desired surface browning and crisping. Sugar can shield lower food layers from heating, as in microwavable ice cream toppings. Sugar can function as a control agent to minimize uneven heating.

Sugar cane grows in tropical and subtropical climates: Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Hawaii, India, Brazil, Cuba, Thailand. Sugar beets thrive in temperate climates: North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Idaho, California, the former Soviet Union, Europe.

No. USDA projects that this year, we will import the equivalent of about 5.65 billion pounds of white, refined sugar, most of it entering the US in the form of cane “raws” that require further refining. Very little white granulated sugar is imported.

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Unrefined (raw) cane sugar traded at open, public auction on a commodity (futures) exchange is referred to as “world” sugar. Only a small fraction of all the sugar grown and produced is ever offered for sale at this auction.

Fluctuating world sugar prices, for delivery in various months, are reported daily in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere as the lb11 Caribbean contract. As with any commodity, traded raw sugar prices reflect supply and demand, weather conditions, political unrest, speculative greed, and a host of other factors common to all futures trading.

There is a difference, and usually little relationship, between the #11 world futures price, and US sugar prices, for several reasons. First, by definition the #11 contract trades in “raw” cane (never beet) sugar, not refined, white granulated sugar. Second, the #11 price assumes the “raws” are landed in the Caribbean, in bulk, and not packaged at a useful domestic location. Third, the raw price does not reflect import duties, fees and tariffs most countries, including the US, impose upon imported sugar.

The price difference between raws on the World #11 market, and the US #14 market, is typically 9-12 cents a pound, and is largely a measure of import duties and fees imposed on imported raws. These duties are, in turn, a reflection of “support” prices — minimum returns American sugar farmers receive for their crops.

No. They are guaranteed a minimum price for their crops, and import duties protect them from being driven out of business by low-priced, foreign sugar. But by law, the Federal sugar program that mandates minimum returns also requires that the program not penalize American taxpayers even one dollar. Systems which protect domestic sugar producers have been in effect, in one form or another, for decades, both in the US and elsewhere.

Yes, but compared to what? Nearly every country in the world protects, subsidizes and micromanages the details and economics of sugar commerce within their borders, so the US situation is just one among many. There are only a handful of countries in the world that allow true, unregulated supply-and-demand sugar capitalism. And in spite of US “protectionism,” Americans pay less for sugar than most industrialized countries, and in a recent study, only Australia and Canada had lower average prices.

Yes, and for good, if not universally accepted reasons. Maintenance and protection of a domestic sugar industry have long been viewed as an important, strategic goal by many countries, largely because sugar is an indispensable part of everyday life.

History has shown that when sugar trade is left entirely to free-market forces, periods of wild price fluctuations and uncertain supply inevitably occur. To ensure stability, various forms of “protectionism” and market control have evolved in most countries. Such mechanisms are as imperfect as the people who, with their competing agendas, propose and inevitably compromise over solutions.

The US has long protected its sugar industry for compelling reasons. It is an important industry that provides jobs and a necessary, pleasurable product few of us care to, or could, live without. The very survival of much of the enormous American food industry depends upon a steady, affordable supply of quality sugar for sweetness and a host of functional properties for which there is no substitute.

The US sugar industry is almost as important to our economic vitality as is a steady supply of affordable energy. Subjecting sugar to the unpredictable forces of global laissez-faire capitalism would likely lead to “dumping” by countries whose own sugar industries are much more protected than is ours. This would drive some, if not all, domestic growers and refiners out of business. The resulting dependence on foreign sources for our sugar could bring shortages more severe than caused by World War II’s rationing, with high prices to match