Sugar is often declared as evil or the enemy of good health. While excess amounts of sugar in many foods can lead to weight gain, which in turn can increase risk for obesity and other chronic diseases, it’s not necessarily the enemy.
First of all, what is sugar? Many of us think of sugar as the white granules used to make our favorite cakes, pies, cookies, and pastries, but sugar is actually used for much more than that. In fancy science terms, sugar is sucrose. Sucrose is a carbohydrate, which one of the Big Three macronutrients that provide us with energy: protein, fat, and carbohydrate. So, sugar is just a carbohydrate that’s found in a variety of foods, from fruits, vegetables, and nuts to bread, tomato sauce, and canned baked beans. Sugar can be used to make things sweet, but also balance out things that are really sour (like salad dressing or ketchup) and prevent the spoilage of foods (like bread, canned goods, and ready-to-eat foods).
5 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Sugar
1) Sugar comes from the sugar beet and sugar cane, which are plants grown in 17 states across the United States. Once the plants are harvested, the juice is squeezed out of the plant, heated, crystallized, and dried to create the familiar sweet, white granules.
2) Unlike many crops, most of the byproducts of sugar processing are reused and recycled in a variety of ways. During the refining process, molasses (the less sweet, sticky brown product) can be used by bakers for bread and baked goods and farmers for animal feed. The leftover fibrous sugar cane stalk, called bagasse, can be used to generate electricity, make food and drink packaging, glue and cement, and even Legos! The sugar beet residue can be used for animal feed or further processed to make other food products. Finally, the water that’s filtered out of the juice (called “sweetwater”) can be pumped back into the system and reused.
3) You’ve probably seen both white sugar and brown sugar in the store, and may have even gotten confused when recipes ask to use one or the other. What’s the difference and does it matter which one you use? White sugar like granulated sugar, powdered sugar, or sanding sugar contain little or no molasses. The brown sugars such as light/dark brown sugar, turbinado sugar, and muscovado sugar contain different amounts of molasses. The darker the sugar, the more molasses it has. Fun fact! White granulated sugar and brown sugar can be used interchangeably, but know that brown sugar will bring a little more moisture and richer molasses flavor. When baking, try half the amount of white sugar and half the amount of brown sugar instead of all white sugar – the moisture in brown sugar can help keep your baked goods chewy and soft.
4) Sugar is such a versatile ingredient, it can be used for so much more than just adding sweetness. Sugar is used as a flavor enhancer, bulking agent, and mouthfeel enhancer for dairy products, breads and cereals, salad dressing, pickles, canned fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, frozen foods, fermented foods, and other confectionery. It can also be used to increase shelf life and decrease/inhibit microbial growth and spoilage in breads and cereals, bakery products, condiments and sauces, jam and jelly, canned foods, and so much more.
5) Sugar has many more uses beyond food (say what??). In the cosmetic industry, sugar is used as a moisturizer, an exfoliant, and even as a preservative to make lipstick last longer. In your home and garden, sugar can be used to extend the life of flowers – add three teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of vinegar in a quart of water and add freshly cut flowers. The flowers feed off of the sugar and the vinegar reduces bacteria growth.
Cool, right? Check out this recipe for homemade bubbles with just a little sugar, dish soap, and water.
