The Story of Sugar Made by All Plants

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The Story of Sugar

Sugar is a substance that made by all plants. It is used in the photosynthesis process for food production. There are probably as many types of sugar as there are plants. However, the types of sugar that we use at home today, mainly comes from cane and sugar beets.

For most of human history, sugar cane is the most important source of cultivated and commercially available sugar. Americans consume well over 100 lbs of sugar every year. Sugar cane belongs to the grass family. Unlike many crops, once it is cultivated, it grows back. Western society has a love affair with sugar. It is our reward for eating all our dinner, and the highlight of every holiday meal. Sugar is everywhere; it is hard to believe that there was a time when it was not readily available.

The use of sugar goes back to pre-colonial times. The first history of refined sugar was in 8000 BC in the Polynesian Islands. World exploration made it available to Europeans. However it was not an affordable product, only people of status could afford it. Sugar quickly became a valuable commodity among the aristocracy of Brittan, and its demand flourished.

(Whipps, 2008)

Sugar is a very labor intensive crop. In the British Empire, indentured servants provided the labor associated with sugar production. Three sugar harvests are possible in a year making sugar production very lucrative. The climate in Europe is not suitable for sugar to grow. It must have a tropical or temperate environment to remain viable. Sugar soon became a bigger money maker than tobacco. This caused a “Sugar Rush”, among the European powers. Sugar now trumped Tobacco as the world’s most valuable crop. The switch from a tobacco economy to a sugar eco...

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• Leavening - provides food for yeast utilizable source of nourishment for its growth.

• Creaming - Sugar crystals combine with fat molecules when fat and sugar are creamed together.

• Egg Foams – aids in stabilization beaten egg foams.

• Carmelization - Sugar adds flavor and leading to surface browning which improves moisture retention in baked products.

• Maillard Reactions - At oven temperatures, sugar chemically reacts with proteins in the baking product, contributing to the food’s browned surface.

• Sugar, once dissolved, promotes spread in cookies.

(Figoni, 2011)

Each ingredient has a job to do, but none of the ingredients plays part in more chemical reactions than sugar. Refined sugar is now a staple in our diets. It’s value overtime although changed is still priceless. The proof is in the pudding and how the cookie crumbles.

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