Everything you need to know about sugar!

Sugar: from Cane to Candy

Sugar is the main ingredient in traditional candies (sugar candies).
It is an organic molecule, i.e. “a molecule produced by living beings and containing at least one carbon-hydrogen bond.” That means it is naturally present in fruits and vegetables, and highly concentrated in beets and sugarcane.

Sweet molecules

The scientific name for sugar is sucrose, a compound made up of two molecules: fructose (plentiful in fruits), and glucose (found particularly in grapes, honey and starch).

Extracting sweetness

Sucrose is extracted from sugarcane and sugar beets by a mechanical process. Factories that transform beets into sugar are called sugar refineries. After the different steps in the extraction process, the first sugar obtained is in crystal form.
This sugar is then used to make other kinds of sugar: granulated sugar, sugar cubes, icing sugar, brown sugar, candy sugar, etc.

Sugar: a “sustainable development” product

Industrial sugar extraction from beets is a perfect model of sustainable development in that it uses every part of the plant. There is no waste; everything is transformed or recycled.

Natural qualities of sugar

Sugar has industrial uses thanks to its many technological and organoleptic properties. When added to food products, it gives them a sweet flavor; it also plays a key role in texture, making foods smooth, chewy, crispy, crunchy, etc. It naturally helps preserve foods (like jam!) and is a very effective fermenting agent.