Sugar is a pure carbohydrate. It is used as a sweetener worldwide. Sugar comes in various forms including: dextrose, fructose, lactose, maltose and sucrose.
Sources of sugar
Sugar is mostly produced from sugar cane and sugar beet––both taste the same. However, sugar is also found in a wide variety of other sources.
Types of sugar include:
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Raw sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Caster/superfine sugar
- Maple sugar and maple syrup
- Cube sugar
- Vanilla sugar
- Icing sugar
- Cane sugar syrups
- Molasses
- Honey
Purchasing sugar
Buying granulated sugar and its close cousins is really a very simple matter. Buy a brand you know you can trust and be certain the package is clean, dry and has no insect infestation.
However, when trying to spot sugar in your diet, you'll need to learn to read the label. Sugar has various names in ingredients lists, including:
- Glucose
- Dextrose (form of glucose)
- Fructose (fruit sugar)
- Laevulose (ie, fructose)
- Lactose (from milk, glucose and galactose)
- Sucrose (glucose and fructose)
- Malt, malt extract, maltose
- Matodextrin (maltose and starch)
- Corn syrup (mostly fructose)
- Maple, rice or barley syrups (sucrose and some glucose and fructose)
- Honey (fructose and glucose)
- Golden syrup (sucrose, glucose and fructose).
Storing sugar
Liquid sweeteners do not have quite the longevity of dry sugars. honey, molasses, corn syrup and maple syrup may crystallize or mold during long storage. These syrups are chemically not as simple as table sugar and therefore lose flavor and otherwise break down over a long period of time.