In order to understand what sugar is made of in our country, it is worth referring to those regulatory documents that regulate its production. First of all, this is GOST No. 52678-2006, approved in 2006 (December 27). According to its provisions, various types of sugar (including raw, granulated sugar, powdered sugar and refined sugar) are produced from sugar beets.

Sugar beet is a root crop that can be grown in the climatic conditions of Russia, unlike palm trees, sugar cane, certain varieties of sorghum and millet, from which sweet extractives are obtained in other parts of the world (Southeast Asia, China, Cuba, Japan) .

To find out what sugar is made of, you need to consider in general terms the technological chain for the production of this product. At the first stages, sugar beet roots (by the way, they are light, not red) are washed, weighed and chopped to a state of shavings. Then, in the diffuser, juice is extracted from the raw material with the help of hot water. It contains about 15% sucrose. The juice is separated from the so-called pulp, which is passed to livestock feed.

Many, thinking about what sugar is made of, do not even imagine how many additional components are involved in this process. For example, the resulting beet juice is mixed with milk of lime, then, after precipitation of impurities, carbon dioxide is passed through the solution for filtration (sometimes the mixture is filtered through ion-exchange resins).

What sugar is made of looks like sugar syrup when refined. It is further evaporated, treated with sulfur dioxide and filtered again. At this stage, the solution already contains about 60% sugar. After that, the raw material must be crystallized in vacuum apparatuses at a temperature of about 75 degrees Celsius. The resulting mixtures are passed through centrifuges to separate sucrose from molasses, resulting in crystalline sugar.

How is refined sugar made? It usually uses a method of drying and pressing sugar syrup, which is subsequently cut into cubes. A more complex and costly method allows the initial pouring of the syrup into molds into which refined sugar is added. The raw material dries in the molds, is removed and separated.

Today on the shelves you can find quite expensive brown sugar. Its color is due to the fact that the components of cane molasses are not completely separated from the raw sugar, which gives it an additional flavor and color. How is sugar made from cane? The production cycle of this product is similar to that of beet sugar. But there are certain features. For example, the juice in the first stage is pressed using rollers, and the processing is characterized by the use of a small amount of lime (up to 3% by weight of the beets and up to 0.07% by weight of the stems).

Which sugar is more useful, everyone decides for himself. Cane is less chemically attacked, which, on the one hand, is good, but on the other hand, it can give undesirable impurities. In addition, brown sugar is considered more nutritious than white sugar.

The chemical composition of sugar

The constituents of ordinary sugar are sucrose and a group of complex substances. It is the formula of sugar in chemistry that is missing. Chemical formula sucrose - C 12 H 22 O 11. Sucrose, in turn, consists of fructose and glucose. Now we know what is contained in sugar, what is the chemical composition of the carbohydrate that we eat daily.

Sugar, in the form of complex compounds, is found in most foods. It is found in mother's milk, is part of cow's milk, the sugar content in vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts is high. Plants usually contain glucose and fructose. In nature, glucose is more common in plants. Glucose is also called dextrose or grape sugar. Fructose is referred to as fruit sugar or called levulose.

Fructose is considered the sweetest natural sugar. Glucose is less sweet than fructose. The content of glucose exceeds the amount of fructose in plant organs. Glucose is a constituent of polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose.

In addition to glucose, there are other natural sugars:

1. Maltose.
2. Lactose.
3. Mannose.
4. Sorboza.
5. Methylpentose.
6. Arabilose.
7. Inulin.
8. Pentose.
9. Xylose.
10. Cellobiose.

AT different countries sugar is extracted from various plant products. For the production of sugar in Russia, sugar beet is common, containing up to 22% sucrose. Cane sugar in the form of brown crystals or grains is obtained from sugar cane juice and is imported from India.

Sugar production

Sugar production on an industrial scale began in India in the 16th century. The sugar industry in Russia and the first plant for the production of a sweet product from imported raw materials appeared in 1719 in St. Petersburg. In the 19th century, sugar in Russia began to be obtained from beets grown in their own fields. Most of the sugar factories of the Russian Empire worked on the territory of today's Ukraine.

Later, in the USSR, the sugar industry began to develop rapidly in Ukraine, sugar factories for the production of beet sugar were opened in various regions of Kyrgyzstan, in Uzbekistan and the republics of Transcaucasia. In the 30s of the 20th century, the USSR held the first place in the world in the production of sugar from sugar beets. In the 70s, the number of sugar factories already amounted to 318 units. Currently, there are about 70 sugar beet processing plants in Russia.

What is sugar made from?

In Russia, sugar is made from sugar beets. What is sugar made from in different countries, except for cane and beets? In different countries, it is extracted from various natural sources, as a rule, plants serve as raw materials. Types of sugars by raw materials:

1. The Chinese make sorghum from the juice of the cereal plant.
2. In Canada, maple syrup is often used. To prepare maple sugar, sugar maple sap is taken.
3. The Egyptians get their sweet food from beans.
4. Palm sugar (or jagre) is extracted from the juice of sweet palm species in South, Southeast Asia, on most of the islands of the Indian Ocean.
5. In Poland, sweetness is obtained from birch sap.
6. The Japanese make malt sugar from starchy rice.
7. Mexicans feast on agave molasses, the sap of the plant.

In addition to the listed types of sugars by raw materials, sugar is extracted from various sugar-bearing plants, including flowers. The raw material for the production of sugar can be starch. From cornstarch, sweetness is more often called corn syrup. In nature, there are hundreds various kinds sugars. But in its pure form, refined, artificially refined sugar does not occur in nature, it is obtained industrially.

Getting sugars

How is sugar made? Sugar production technology has remained unchanged for many years. In order to extract sugar from beets or to obtain a product from sugar cane stalks, vegetable raw materials go through several stages of a complex technological process in production.

1. First of all, the beets are washed to remove dirt and cut into chips.
2. To neutralize microbes, the raw material is poured with lime mortar.
3. The cleaned mass is crushed.
4. The surface of the crushed raw mass is treated with active substances, as a result of a chemical reaction, sugar syrup is released from the raw material.
5. Sugar syrup is filtered.
6. The next step is the evaporation of the syrup. Used to remove excess water.
7. Crystallization with vacuum.
8. The product resulting from crystallization consists of sucrose and molasses crystals.
9. The next step in the extraction of solid sugar is the separation of sucrose and molasses using a centrifuge.
10. In conclusion, drying is applied, after drying, sugar can be eaten.

The technology for the production of beet sugar is similar to obtaining a sweet product from cane.

Types of sugar

What types of sugar are there? Sugar is known to be produced different types, its main types:

1. Reed.
2. Beet.
3. Palm.
4. Malt.
5. Sorghum.
6. Maple.

In addition to the main types, there are types of sugar intended for use in the confectionery industry; such sugar cannot be bought in a store. We buy and eat regular white granulated sugar or granulated sugar. A less popular type is refined lump sugar. At home, consumers widely use a product made from sugar beet, which is what we buy in the store.

Types of Sugars

Sugar is divided into types and types. Sugars have the same composition, the difference lies in the degree of processing and the quality of cleaning the product from impurities.

There are such types of granulated sugar

1. Regular Sugar - regular or also called crystalline. Crystalline is the most commonly eaten type of sugar. The size of the crystals affects the palatability of crystalline sugar. It is an essential ingredient in homemade sweet dishes. It is used when preparing jam for the winter, cooking homemade jam, it is he who is found in culinary recipes for homemade cakes and desserts.
2. Bakers Special - baker's is different smallest size crystals. Fine sugar bakers are used in cooking in the preparation of muffins, biscuits.
3. Fruit sugar - fruity with small granules. Valued more than usual for the uniformity of the structure. It is used in the preparation of sweet puddings, custards.
4. Coarse Sugar is coarse and has large granules, which makes it an indispensable component in the production of sweets, liqueurs and candies.


5. Superfine, Ultrafine, Bar Sugar - ultrafine product with the smallest crystals, due to which sugar crystals quickly dissolve in water of any temperature. An ideal component for meringues, fillings for strudel, pies with thin stretched dough.
6. Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar - confectionery powder. On the shelves of shops, powder of the finest grinding is presented under the familiar name of powdered sugar. In home cooking, it is used when whipping cream, egg whites, making creams, powder is part of the icing for Easter cakes, muffins.
7. Sanding Sugar - sugar dusting. The product has large crystals. It is used, as a rule, in the confectionery industry; at home, sugar sprinkling is not used.

Assortment of sugar

The basis of the assortment of sugar in the store is granulated sugar and refined sugar. Brown sugar today is considered less popular among buyers, unlike white. Sugar range:

1. Solid and loose.
2. Sugar sand.
3. Chipped, lump sugar and sawn.
4. Lollipop, stone.

Beet white sugar

White or regular sugar is a common food sweetener. It is obtained by processing sugar cane or sugar beets. The sugar industry enterprises produce the main types of white sugar - granulated sugar and refined sugar. On sale, white sugar is in the form of granulated sugar and refined sugar in pieces.

Rafinated sugar

Refined sugar is made from granulated sugar. In order to obtain refined sugar, granulated sugar is dissolved in water, the resulting syrup is further purified - refined. As a result of refining, refined sugar is obtained with a high content of sucrose, it is a product that is maximally purified from impurities.

Refined sugar is produced in the following assortment:

1. Refined pressed crushed.
2. Pressed refined sugar in cubes.
3. Pressed instant refined sugar.
4. Pressed refined sugar in small packaging - a travel option.
5. Rafinade of increased biological value with the addition of lemongrass or eleutherococcus.

Rafinade is packaged in cardboard boxes and in this form the goods from sugar factories go to stores.

Sugar

Refined granulated sugar is produced from purified sugar syrup. Depending on the size of the crystals, sugar sand is presented in the following range:

1. Small.
2. Middle.
3. Large.
4. Very large.

Unlike refined sugar, white sugar contains a small amount of useful substances: calcium, sodium, iron and potassium. Sugar is packed in bags and packages.

Vanilla sugar

Vanilla sugar is often called vanilla or vanillin by culinary experts. What is the difference between vanillin and vanilla sugar? In order to understand the difference between regular sugar and vanilla sugar, you need to know what vanilla sugar is.

Vanilla is plain granulated sugar flavored with vanilla beans. Real vanilla is considered an expensive and valuable product. Vanillin is a substance derived from vanilla, its artificial substitute.

brown cane sugar

Cane sugar is obtained from cane juice. There are many varieties of cane sugar, the main difference between the species is the quantitative content of molasses (molasses) in sugar. Brown is unrefined cane sugar. Dark brown sugar is dark in color and rich in molasses flavor, unlike light brown sugar.

Unrefined cane sugar is considered to be a healthy substitute for regular white sugar. Before you do right choice between refined cane, unrefined and unrefined, you need to know what types of cane sugar are.

Types of cane sugar

1. high quality
2. Special.
3. Special.
4. Refined purified
5. Unrefined.
6. Brown untreated.

Cane sugar is sold in refined and unrefined form, there are special varieties of cane sugar.

Varieties of cane sugar

1. Demerara variety (Demerara sugar). Unrefined, light brown with large crystals. Is different strong aroma molasses. Demerara is used as a natural sweetener for tea and coffee. Demerara is added to desserts, its large crystals are used to sprinkle muffins, buns, sweet pies.


2. Muscavado sugar. Unrefined sugar, crystalline and rich in molasses flavor. The crystals are slightly larger than regular brown, but not as large as Demerar.
3. Turbinado (Turbinado sugar). Partially refined. Large crystals from yellow to brown. It has a pleasant caramel taste. Ideal for sweet and savory dishes.
4. Barbados (Soft molasses sugar/Black Barbados sugar). Soft, thin and moist. It has a dark color, has a strong aroma due to the high content of molasses. It is used to make gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread houses and gingerbread dough.

What are the differences

Beet white sugar is edible only in refined form. Cane can be bought in refined, unrefined and unrefined form. This is the difference between cane sugar and white sugar.

liquid sugars

In addition to crystalline, there is liquid sugar. In liquid form, it is a solution of white sugar and can be used for its intended purpose, as a crystalline one.

An amber-colored liquid with the addition of molasses is used to impart a special flavor to food products.

Liquid types include another type - invert sugar.

What is invert sugar

Invert Sugar is a sugar in liquid form, consisting of a mixture of glucose and fructose. It is used only in industry for the production of carbonated drinks. Invert sugar is used only in liquid form.

What sugar is better to buy

Before you buy sugar, you need to understand which sugar is better to buy for baking, white beet or brown dark cane. How to choose?

All sugar - white and brown - is addictive and gluten-free. When preparing sweet pastries, as you know, it is impossible to do without sugar. You can buy inexpensive granulated sugar, refined good quality either poor quality, but popular with supporters healthy eating expensive brown sugar. Under the guise of cane sugar, they often sell simple sugar, dyed with sugar color. If you want to buy real cane sugar, its packaging should indicate:

1. Unrefined.
2. Type of cane sugar: Demerara, Muscovado, Turbinado or Black Barbados.

Crystals must have different size, the same crystalline sugar indicates the chemical processing of the product.

You can safely buy white granulated sugar in its original packaging, on which a conscientious manufacturer, as a rule, indicates the following data on the pack:

1. category. Category is the first or Extra.
2. GOST R 55396-2009.
3. The nutritional value of the product.
4. What raw material is sand or refined sugar made of: beet or raw cane sugar.
5. Year of manufacture and packing date.

Packets of lump sugar contain the same data as packs of granulated sugar. Powdered sugar made at a sugar factory contains harmful additives. They are added so that the powder remains free-flowing and does not clump. It is more useful to prepare the powder at home, for its preparation you will need to grind simple granulated sugar in a mill.

Where is sugar used?

In food, the product is used in various dishes. As the main ingredient, sucrose, along with flour, is included in traditional pizza dough recipes. Sucrose is widely used in the confectionery industry, in the production of condensed milk. Sweet fillings for pies, dessert toppings for pies, some types of pizza contain a sweet ingredient.

White sugar is an excellent preservative, it is added when cooking jams for the winter, jam preparations. Almost all homemade preparations, conservation contains it. Products where the manufacturer puts sugar:

1. Sausages, sausages.
2. Ketchups, sauces.
3. Kashi fast food in packages, dry breakfasts.
4. Canned meat.
5. Fat-free yoghurts, curds.
6. Juices, soda, cocktails.
7. Syrups, ice cream.
8. Frozen food products.
9. Confectionery, bakery.
10. Beer, kvass.

In addition to food, sugar is used for the manufacture of medicines, in the tobacco industry, in the leather industry, it is widely used in the chemical industry.

Why is sugar bad for the human body?

First of all, sugar is harmful for people leading a sedentary lifestyle. The refined product is quickly absorbed by the human body and instantly raises the level of glucose in the blood.

Elevated blood sugar levels are known to contribute to the development of diabetes. The load on the pancreas increases, and the gland does not have time to produce the right amount of insulin necessary for normal human life.

Excessive consumption of sugar damages the teeth and figure. Overweight and sweets in the form of cakes, cakes in addition to fats harm the body. Compliance with the norms of the use of sucrose instead of harm brings benefits human body. Harm is caused by sugar eaten in excess of the norm.

The rate of consumption of sweets

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the normal sugar intake is:

1. For women, the daily norm is 50 g per day.
2. For men 60 g per day.

Remember! Excessive consumption of sweets leads those with a sweet tooth more often than others to obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus.

What can replace sugar

Sweeteners are used as a dietary supplement, as a rule, by people suffering from diabetes. It is better for healthy people to replace sucrose and artificial sweeteners with natural sweet foods, they are less high-calorie and more healthy:

1. Honey.
2. Stevia (or grass is also called honey grass).
3. Maple syrup.
4. Agave syrup.
5. Jerusalem artichoke or ground pear syrup.

How to store sugar at home

Sugar, as a food product, has its own shelf life. For the proper preservation of all long-term stored food products, it is necessary to observe the conditions for their storage at home.

The shelf life of sugar is calculated in years. Sugar is a long shelf life food. After the expiration date, it retains its original taste for a long time.

All types of sugar have the same shelf life. At home, granulated sugar and refined pieces should be stored in a dry place at a temperature not exceeding 25+. The term of such storage will be about 8 years.

The shelf life of the product in a cold room is reduced to 5-6 years. For long-term storage, it is better to keep sugar in a cloth bag; for use during the year, you can pour it into glass containers, plastic dishes, or leave it in its original packaging.

In addition to the well-known types of sugars, there are other types. Today, you can often hear that brown sugar is healthier than white. Actually this is a myth. A peeled beet or cane product does not contain vitamins, minerals, and does not contain fiber.

Nutritionists advise replacing sucrose whenever possible with fructose from fresh fruits, reducing sweets and monitoring blood glucose levels in order to stay healthy for many years, eat right, use healthy foods.

Do you know how sugar is made?

Sugar is not a food product, but a pure chemical substance added to food to improve taste. This substance can be obtained in different ways: from oil, gas, wood, etc. But the most cost-effective way to obtain sugar is the processing of beets and a special type of cane, which is called sugar cane.

Do you know how sugar is actually made?

To get a white and pure refined sugar, it must be passed through a filter made of cow bones.
For the production of refined sugar, beef bone charcoal is used!

The bone char filter acts as a coarse filter and is very often used in the first step of the sugar refining process. In addition, this filter allows you to eliminate coloring substances; The most commonly used colorants are amino acids, organic acids, phenols (carbolic acids) and ash.

The only kind of bones used in the bone filter are beef bones. Bone charcoal filters are the most efficient and economical whitening filters and are therefore the most commonly used filters in the cane sugar industry.
Companies use up their stocks of bone charcoal fairly quickly.
Sugar does not supply energy to the body. The fact is that the “burning” of sugar in the body is a complex process in which, in addition to sugar and oxygen, dozens of other substances are involved: vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. (until now it cannot be definitively asserted that all these substances are known to science). Without these substances, energy cannot be obtained from sugar in the body.
If we consume sugar in its pure form, then our body takes the missing substances from its organs (from teeth, from bones, from nerves, from skin, liver, etc.). It is clear that these organs begin to experience a lack of these nutrients (starvation) and after a while begin to fail.

In the production of sugar according to conventional technology, disinfectants are used: formalin, bleach, poisons of the amine group (vazin, ambisol, as well as combinations of the above substances), hydrogen peroxide and others.

"AT traditional technology juice is obtained by languishing for an hour and a half, and so that during this time the fungal mass does not grow, which can then clog centrifuges, chopped beets at this stage are flavored with formalin.
... The sucrose product in Russia is colored, lives its own life, is not stored without preservatives. In Europe, it is not even considered a food product, because in addition to color, our sugar factories also leave technogenic impurities, including formalin. Hence dysbacteriosis and other consequences. But there is no other sugar in Russia, so they keep silent about it. And on a Japanese spectrograph, we see formalin residues in Russian sugar.”

In the production of sugar, other chemicals are also used: milk of lime, sulfur dioxide, etc. In the final bleaching of sugar (to remove impurities that give it a yellow color, a specific taste and smell), chemistry is also used, for example, ion exchange resins.

Now about the effect of sugar on our body.

The harm of sugar has long been clearly proven. It is known that refined white sugar is an energy dummy, devoid of proteins, fats and nutrients and trace elements, and even with an admixture of residual "chemistry".

59 REASONS WHY SUGAR IS BAD TO HEALTH

1. It helps to reduce immunity.
2. May cause mineral metabolism disorders.
3. CAN CAUSE IRRITABILITY, ANXIETY, DISTURBANCE OF ATTENTION, CHILDREN'S WHIM.
4. Causes a significant increase in triglyceride levels.
5. Helps reduce resistance to bacterial infections.
6. May cause kidney damage.
7. Reduces the level of high density lipoproteins.
8. Leads to a deficiency of the trace element chromium.
9. Contributes to the occurrence of cancer of the breast, ovaries, intestines, prostate, rectum.
10. Increases glucose and insulin levels.
11. Causes a deficiency of the trace element copper.
12. Violates the absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. IMPAIRS VISION.
14. Increases the concentration of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
15. May cause hypoglycemia (low glucose levels).
16. Promotes an increase in the acidity of digested food.
17. May increase adrenaline levels in children.
18. In patients with disorders of the digestive tract leads to impaired absorption of nutrients.
19. Accelerates the onset of age-related changes.
20. Promotes the development of alcoholism.
21. Causes caries.
22. Promotes obesity.
23. Increases the risk of developing ulcerative colitis.
24. Leads to aggravation peptic ulcer stomach and duodenum.
25. Can lead to the development of arthritis.
26. Provokes attacks of bronchial asthma.
27. Promotes the occurrence of fungal diseases (pathogens - candida albicans).
28. Can cause the formation of gallstones.
29. Increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.
30. May cause acute appendicitis.
31. May cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Promotes the appearance of hemorrhoids.
33. Increases chance varicose veins veins.
34. May lead to an increase in glucose and insulin levels in women using hormonal birth control pills.
35. Contributes to the occurrence of periodontal disease.
36. Increases the risk of developing osteoporosis.
37. Increases the acidity of saliva.
38. May impair insulin sensitivity.
39. Leads to a decrease in glucose tolerance.
40. May reduce the production of growth hormone.
41. Can increase cholesterol levels..
42. Promotes an increase in systolic blood pressure.
43. Causes drowsiness in children.
44. Contributes to headaches.
45. Violates the absorption of proteins.
46. Causes food allergies.
47. Promotes the development of diabetes.
48. In pregnant women, it can cause toxicosis.
49. Promotes the appearance of eczema in children. 50. Predisposes to development cardiovascular diseases.
51. May disrupt the structure of DNA.
52, May disrupt the structure of proteins.
53. By changing the structure of collagen, it contributes to the early appearance of wrinkles.
54. Predisposes to the development of cataracts.
55. Contributes to the occurrence of emphysema.
56. Provokes the development of atherosclerosis.
57. Promotes an increase in the content of low-density lipoproteins.
58. Leads to the appearance of free radicals in the bloodstream.
59. Reduces functional activity enzymes.

But look at how much sugar is contained in some familiar foods:

Are you able to eat 16 cubes of refined sugar at a time? And drink half a liter of Coca-Cola? This is how much dissolved sugar equivalent is contained in 500 milliliters of this drink.

Look at the photos. This is how much sugar in cubes is contained in the form of sweeteners in our usual drinks and sweets. Now you understand what is the HARM of SUGAR, especially dissolved. Its harm is not immediately visible, just as dissolved sugar is not visible.

Beets have been known to people for a long time - the first mention of this vegetable crop dates back to the second millennium BC. Since then, breeders have bred many of its varieties. Among them there are leafy forms, for example - chard, the majority are root crops.

Root forms of beets are divided into food and fodder. The current one appeared precisely from fodder varieties. It happened quite late - in the XVIII century.

Modern varieties and hybrids of sugar beets contain up to 18% sugar. The best of them are Crystal, Manege, Nesvizh, etc. How exactly sugar is extracted from them - we will tell further.

Technology and equipment at the sugar factory

We will briefly describe how sugar is produced on the basis of the root crop at special factories (you can learn about how sugar beet is used and what is obtained during its processing). Production at the plant takes place in several technological stages.

1. Preparatory stage (cleaning and washing line). In beets brought directly from the field or from storage, stones, splinters, pieces of metal can be caught. This is dangerous for the equipment. The beets may just be dirty.

   In order to avoid loss of sugar during washing, the water temperature is controlled - it should not exceed 18 degrees. After washing, the beets are rinsed with chlorinated water - at the rate of 10-15 kg of bleach per 100 tons of beets. Then the beets are fed to the conveyor. There it is blown with a strong jet of air. This removes the remaining water and adhering light impurities.

   Equipment:

   • hydraulic conveyors (simultaneously with the supply, the beets are washed from dirt);
   • sand traps, stone traps, top traps;
   • water separators;
   • washing machines.
2. Grinding. How is it made? The prepared sugar beet is weighed and fed into the storage hopper. From here, under its own weight, it goes for grinding to centrifugal, drum or disk beet cutters. The width of the resulting chips is in the range of 4-6, and the thickness is 1.2-1.5 millimeters.

   Equipment:

   • conveyor with magnetic separator;
   • beet cutter;
   • scales;
3. Diffusion. In diffusion plants, the main process takes place - the washing out of sugar from the crushed material. Chips are processed hot water and gives sugar and other soluble substances into the solution. This process occurs at a temperature of about 70-80 degrees in a slightly acidic environment.

   An environment rich in sugars is a fertile environment for the development of microorganisms. This leads to damage to the product, and to more dangerous consequences - for example, possible explosions. Therefore, during the diffusion process, formalin solution is periodically added to the apparatus.

   Its final concentration is low - 0.02% of the total mass of the product, but sufficient to suppress the active microflora. The product that is obtained at this stage is diffusion juice. It is a turbid liquid that quickly darkens in air. It contains a large amount of pulp.

   The pulp is separated on mezgolovushki. The second product is beet pulp. It is pressed and either sent directly to livestock feed or dried.

   Equipment:

   • diffusion installation (screw or rotary);
   • pulp dryer
4. Diffusion Juice Purification. Juice, which is obtained after diffusion, is a complex mixture of many soluble organic substances of the diverse nature. To clean the juice from these impurities, a defecation process is carried out.

   The process with this unappetizing name is carried out in two stages. It boils down to the treatment of juice with lime (milk of lime). The reaction of the solution in this case reaches pH values ​​of 12.2 - 12.4, that is, the solution becomes alkaline.

   In this case, organic acids are neutralized, proteins precipitate. Other unwanted impurities also react. The reaction products either precipitate immediately or are removed at the next stage, the saturation stage. The term "saturation" refers to the well-known process of "carbonation", that is, saturation of the solution with carbon dioxide. In this case, a finely dispersed suspension of calcium carbonate (ordinary chalk) is formed, which absorbs coloring impurities.

   The solution is then filtered and re-saturated. Before this, if necessary, repeated defecation is sometimes carried out. Next, the resulting clear, but still colored solution is treated with sulfur dioxide (sulfur dioxide). This process is called sulfitation. In this case, the alkaline reaction of the solution decreases and its discoloration occurs. The viscosity of the syrup also decreases.

   Equipment:

   • defecation apparatus;
   • filter with heating device;
   • saturator;
   • sulfitator;
   • sump.
5. Thickening and crystallization. The juice obtained after sulfitation is the usual unsaturated solution of sucrose. If the solution is thickened to a saturated state, then, as is known from the school physics course, the process of crystallization will begin in it.

   The resulting crystals will begin to precipitate. This is what happens in vacuum machines. There, the solution, previously evaporated to a state close to saturated, begins to boil at reduced pressure, and thickens to a supersaturated state. The process of mass crystallization begins.

   The precipitated sugar crystals are separated in centrifuges and carried out through several more stages of final processing. There they lighten up and turn into the familiar, well-known, granulated sugar.

   Equipment:

   
   

The yield of sugar from 1 ton of root crops after processing is approximately 100-150 kg. The spread of indicators depends not least on agricultural technology and weather conditions in the current year (read more about where beets grow, what climate and soil it “loves”, read).

The factory indicator of production efficiency is the sugar recovery ratio. It shows the ratio of the mass of sucrose in the finished product (granulated sugar) to the mass of sucrose in the feedstock. Usually it is about 80%.

How to get the product at home?

Let's say right away that it is unlikely that it will be possible to cook the usual refined sugar at home. But sugar syrup is easy to make. It will be a real natural product made by hand. The most uncomplicated equipment is suitable for this.

Would need:

• arbitrary amount ;
• enameled dishes (pots, basins);
• meat grinder, knife, wooden spatula;
• gauze or other filter cloth.

How homemade sugar is made:

1. Sort the beets, clean from the roots and damaged areas. Do not remove the skin!
2. Rinse.
3. As a whole, put in a pot of boiling water and cook for an hour.
4. Drain the water. Allow to cool slightly and remove the skin from the warm beets.
5. Grind with a meat grinder or a knife, which is preferable. The cut plates should be no thicker than 1 mm.
6. Place the crushed beets in a canvas bag and lay under the press. Substitute a basin for flowing juice. If there is no press, you can also squeeze the juice manually, twisting the bag, as when squeezing clothes.
7. After the first pressing, pour the pulp with hot water (not boiling water) in a volume approximately equal to half the volume of the beets, let stand. Throw the beets on a sieve, let the liquid drain into a basin with the previously squeezed juice. Squeeze thicker again in the same place.
8. The resulting juice is heated to 70-80 degrees and filtered through double gauze.
9. Evaporate the filtered juice on the stove to the desired density. In this case, it is desirable to use wide and flat, enameled or tinned dishes.
10. Properly prepared syrup has the consistency of liquid honey. It is stored, like honey, for a very long time.

The syrup obtained during evaporation must be constantly stirred with a wooden spatula - it burns easily.

About 1 kg of syrup is obtained from 5 kilograms of sugar beets., or, in terms of 600 grams of pure sugar.

Getting solid sugar

The syrup must be carefully boiled down in the same way that sugar is boiled down to make homemade candies. Pour boiled syrup into flat metal molds. Put in a cold place. There, the syrup cools quickly and crystallizes. Then it remains only to remove it from the mold and chop it into pieces of the desired size.

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Sugar has been known to mankind for more than one hundred years. Its homeland is India, where sweet grains were obtained from the juice of some varieties of reed, which later became known as sugar.

Indian sugar was well known in Ancient Rome. A sweet delicacy was brought to the Eternal City through the territory of Egypt, which for quite a long time was part of the empire. Already closer to the sunset of Rome, sugar cane began to be cultivated in Sicily and in some regions of southern Spain, but after the collapse of the empire, the cultivation of sugar cane did not receive further development.

Sugar was first brought to Russia around the 11th-12th century. At that time, it cost absolutely incredible money and only the prince and his entourage could try it. However, over time, overseas sweets became somewhat cheaper, and under Peter the Great, a “sugar chamber” appeared in Russia: they organized the import of raw materials from abroad and the production of sugar locally.

Since 1809, a new stage began in the fate of sugar in Russia - work began on establishing the production of sugar from domestic raw materials. In this capacity, sugar beets acted.

2. Raw sugar

The oldest source of sugar is sugar cane. For the first time it began to be consciously cultivated in the region Persian Gulf, from where it gradually spread first to Europe, and then to America.

By the time when sugar cane came to the American continent, sugar in Europe was already consumed very actively, and therefore its mass cultivation began, especially since the climate was very favorable for this. Attempts to cultivate cane in Europe gradually faded away: American sugar was, oddly enough, much cheaper.

It was only under Napoleon that they thought about getting sugar from the long-familiar and familiar beets. When almost all of continental Europe, except for Great Britain, was under his control, Napoleon decided to arrange a commercial blockade for the British. But he did not take into account (or, on the contrary, he perfectly understood) that almost all the sugar that got to Europe was brought by merchant ships of the British fleet.

In order not to be completely without sugar, I had to look for its alternative sources. It turned out that beetroot fits perfectly, and even almost nothing had to be invented. Old work came in handy.

The history of these developments is as follows. In 1747, Andreas Marggraf found out that sugar, which had previously been obtained from sugar cane, was also found in beets. After a series of experiments, the scientist was able to determine that the sugar content in fodder beet is 1.3%. Breeders decided to increase this percentage and started breeding a special, sugar beet. To date, they have succeeded in this so much that varieties of modern beets already contain more than 20% of the required sugar.

Until 1801, all these discoveries were not in demand, and then one of Marggraf's students, whose name was Franz Karl Achard, devoted his life to the problem of obtaining beet sugar. It was he who, back in 1801, equipped the first factory in Europe for processing beets for sugar in Lower Silesia. In general, in 1807, when Napoleon set up a trade blockade, Europe was not left without sugar.

3. Processing of raw materials and obtaining sugar

To get sugar from cane, do the following:

• The stems are cut before they bloom. They contain up to 8-12% fiber, 18-21% sugar and 67-73% water (salts and proteins).
• Then the cut stems are crushed with iron shafts and the juice is squeezed out of them. The juice contains up to 18.36% sugar, 81% water and a very small amount of aromatic substances that give the raw juice a peculiar smell.
• Freshly slaked lime is added to raw juice. This is done to separate proteins. The resulting mixture is heated to 70°C, then filtered and evaporated until the sugar crystallizes.

Getting sugar from beets takes much more time and effort. Today the technology is:

• The beets collected in the fields are accumulated at special sites - kagat storages, where they are kept for quite a long time - up to three months.
• After storage, the root crops are washed and processed into shavings.
• Then, diffusion juice is obtained from beet chips with hot water (+75°C).
• The juice goes through several stages of purification. It uses calcium hydroxide and carbon dioxide.
• The purified juice is boiled down to a syrup with a solids concentration of 55-65%, then it is discolored with sulfur oxide and filtered.
• From the syrup in the vacuum apparatus of the 1st stage, a massecuite of the 1st crystallization (7.5% of water) is obtained, which is centrifuged, removing the "white" molasses. The crystals remaining on the centrifuge sieves are washed, dried, and packaged.
• "White" molasses is thickened again in the vacuum apparatus of the 2nd stage and divided into "green" molasses and "yellow" sugar of the 2nd product, which, after dissolving in pure water, is added to the syrup entering the vacuum apparatus 1- oh steps.
• For additional extraction of sugar, a 3-stage boiling and desugaring is sometimes used.
• The molasses obtained at the last stage of crystallization is molasses - a waste of sugar production, which contains 40-50% sucrose and by weight is 4-5% of the mass of processed beets.

To date, the leader in the cultivation of sugar beet is Ukraine, followed by Russia and Belarus. Then - the EU countries and regions of North and Central America with a temperate climate.

4. Types of sugar

Types of sugar are distinguished by the plant from which it is obtained. In addition to cane and beet sugars, there are three more types:

• Maple. It has been produced in the eastern provinces of Canada since the 17th century from the sap of the sugar maple. The volumes of extraction are impressive: up to 3-6 pounds of sugar are “filtered” from each tree annually.
• Palm. This type of sugar is very common in South and Southeast Asia, the Moluccas and many islands of the Indian Ocean. Here it is often called jagre, but is obtained from sweet juice from cuts on young flower cobs of various types of palms, including coconut and date palms.
• Sorghum. It is obtained from the stalks of sugar sorghum. Moreover, the technology was first developed in China in ancient times.

By the way. Refined sugar (the one in the form of cubes) was invented in 1843 in the Czech Republic. This brilliant idea came to the Swiss Jakov Christoph Radu, who worked as a manager at a sugar factory in Dačice. Today, at the place where this plant was located, there is a monument - a snow-white cube, symbolizing refined sugar.

• Great Soviet Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
• Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Sugarcane".
• Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, section "Sugar beet".
• Shorin P.M. Technology of cultivation and use of sugar sorghum.

www.poetomu.ru

beet sugar

Ordinary white sugar in the form of sand, cubes and powder. Due to the instant dissolution on the tongue, the powder seems sweeter, so it can be used to reduce the total amount of sugar consumed.

Brown sugar

It happens both beetroot, made from overcooked syrup, and cane.

Cane sugar

Imported from India by the Arabs, it was first used in the Middle East. In the 15th century, sugar cane made its main voyage to the New World, and then plantations of brown cane sugar were discovered in America.

Its crystals are covered with cane molasses, it is more fragrant. In marinades, pastries, and as an addition to coffee, dark sugar with a more pronounced aroma is preferred. In delicate desserts with cream, bananas, light types “sound” more advantageously.

Demerara

One of the popular types of cane sugar, which originally came from the district of the same name in Guyana ( South America). The crystals are relatively hard and large, sticky, with a golden brown color.

Muscovado

Cane sugar, which has a strong molasses odor, is usually unrefined. These crystals are larger than regular brown sugar and are very sticky and flavorful.

Turbinado

Partially refined processed raw sugar from which a significant portion of the molasses has been removed by steam or water jets. Its color varies from light golden to pale brown.

malt sugar

Malt sugar is obtained from malt - a fermentation product from germinated, dried and coarsely ground cereals. In Japan, malt sugar, made from starchy rice or millet, has been used for over two thousand years. Malt sugar is significantly less sweet than sucrose; it is added to bakery products and various baby foods.

sorghum sugar

Sorghum sugar is a type of sugar that is obtained from the juice of sugar sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum) - a plant of the cereal family, the stems of which contain up to 18% sugar. In China, since ancient times, molasses (sorghum honey) has been obtained from sugar sorghum.

During the Civil War in the northern states of the United States, they tried to put the production of sorghum sugar on an industrial basis. But the extraction of sugar from sorghum juice turned out to be economically inefficient - the juice contains a lot of mineral salts, gums and invert sugar, so the yield of pure crystalline sugar is very small.

The chemical composition of sugar

Glucose - simplest form Sahara. It is he who is absorbed by the circulatory system. The human body converts carbohydrates and all sugars into glucose. Only this form of sugar is taken up by the cells and used for energy.

Sucrose is the name given to solid table sugar. By chemical composition it is one molecule of fructose and one molecule of glucose. It can be granular, lumpy or powdered. It is the final product of sugar beet or cane processing.

Maltose - found in cereals, mostly in barley. Its composition is two molecules of glucose.

Black molasses is a sugar that remains as a by-product in the production of table sugar. It is a thick syrup. Contains a lot of useful substances. The darker the molasses, the more the nutritional value and more useful substances it contains.

Brown sugar is table sugar to which molasses is added, as a result of which it acquires a brown color.

Fructose is a sugar found in honey and fruits. It is absorbed by the body very slowly, it does not enter the circulatory system immediately. It is widely used and is one of the main types of sugar. Because of the name, there is a misconception that fructose, like fruits, contains many nutrients. In fact, used alone, fructose is no different from other sugars.

Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk and dairy products. For the absorption of lactose by the body, a special enzyme is needed - lactase, it helps break down sugars so that they are absorbed into the intestinal wall. Some people's bodies produce little or no lactase. Milk sugar in such people is poorly absorbed.

webdiana.ru

What is white sugar made from?

Of all types of sugar, the most famous and widely used is white or refined sugar, which is made from beets, or rather from its rhizome, because it contains a large amount of sucrose. The emergence of sugar production in Europe occurred at the beginning of the 19th century, when the British, in a war with the French, completely cut off their supply of sugar, which was then produced from cane. It was accessible only to wealthy people.

Then in France they promised to give a bonus to those who find another way to get sugar, that is, from beets. In Russia, the first sugar factory was built in 1802 in the Tula province. By the end of the 19th century, Russia was not only producing sugar for itself, but also exporting it.

What is brown sugar made from?

It has been far from the first year that we have seen brown sugar on store shelves. The price of such a product is noticeably different from white sugar. Then what is brown sugar made from? And they produce such sugar from sugar cane, which grows in India. Cane sugar was first brought to Europe from the Demerara region of British Guiana in the mid-16th century and quickly became a symbol of wealth and luxury.

What is sugar made of

Cane sugar is indeed healthier than white sugar because of molasses, which contains potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, organic acids and biologically active substances. It has more vitamin B. However, the calorie content of brown sugar is the same as the calorie content of white sugar - 377 kcal.

In addition, brown sugar tastes like caramel, and its color depends on the presence of molasses in it. If there is a lot of molasses, then the sugar will be dark brown and more fragrant. It is brown sugar that Europeans prefer to add to tea or coffee. Brown sugar is popular for baking sweets and making cocktails.

elhow.ru

Sugar (sucrose) is a sweet crystalline substance extracted mainly from sugar cane or sugar beet juice. In its pure (refined) form, sugar is white, and its crystals are colorless. The brownish color of many of its varieties is due to the admixture of various amounts of molasses - condensed vegetable juice that envelops the crystals.
Of all types of sugar, the most famous and popular is white granulated sugar or granulated sugar. After it - classic refined lump sugar. It is these two types of sugar, obtained from sugar beets, that are most widely used in home cooking.
The taste of refined cane and beet sugar is almost indistinguishable.
Brown sugars are obtained from sugar cane by evaporating the extracted syrup.
Brown - means not purified from the so-called black molasses. Yesterday, molasses was considered a waste of sugar production and was used to produce rum. Today we realized that black molasses is awfully useful, because it contains a lot of trace elements: potassium, calcium, iron
Against the background of foreign brown, our white sugar, obtained from beets, looks like a poor relative. However, he also has a fair amount of merits. It also contains trace elements, it's just that somehow we don't usually declare this on the label. There are not as many of them as in cane sugar, but still there.
There is also palm, malt, maple, sorghum sugar
From the stalks of bread sorghum, a sugary syrup is obtained, which has been used in China since ancient times. Sugar from it, however, has never been refined so well that it could successfully compete with beet or cane. India is practically the only country where palm sugar is commercially produced, but this country produces much more cane sugar. In Japan, malt sugar, made from starchy rice or millet, has been used as a sweetener for over 2,000 years. This substance (maltose) can also be obtained with the help of yeast from ordinary starch. It is much inferior to sucrose in terms of sweetness, however, it is used in the manufacture of bakery products and various types of baby food.

answer.mail.ru

white sugar

White sugar is obtained by refining - the purification of natural raw materials from impurities. Basically, such sugar is made from sugar beet or sugar cane. Unrefined beet sugar has an unpleasant taste and aroma, so it is sold exclusively in refined form. On the shelves you can see white sugar in different forms: pressed, granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Due to the peculiarities of production, such sugar does not contain minerals and vitamins, because. during processing, they almost completely go to waste.

Brown sugar

Unrefined cane sugar has Brown color due to the fact that it is covered with a thin film of molasses - black molasses. The variety of varieties of brown sugar is due precisely to the amount of molasses contained in it. During the production process, raw materials undergo only partial processing, so vitamins and minerals are preserved. Of course, the amount of useful elements is not comparable with their content, for example, in honey or dried fruits.

Brown sugar has a natural rich taste and aroma, it is often used not only as an additive to coffee or tea, but also in the preparation of confectionery and savory sauces. Boxes with natural brown cane sugar must have the inscription "unrefined", otherwise it may be an artificially created product with the addition of dyes.

sugar properties

Sucrose, which is essentially sugar, is broken down into fructose and glucose during digestion. That's why universal source quick energy for the body is a glass of sweet tea. Glucose is a simple carbohydrate that keeps the heart and brain working. Fructose is a monosaccharide; due to its sweet taste, it is often a sugar substitute; it is found in free form in almost all sweet fruits and berries.

Any sugar is a high-calorie product, this should be remembered by people who are prone to gaining excess weight. However, a complete rejection of sugar is recommended only for certain diseases. The optimal dose of consumption per day for healthy person- 8-10 teaspoons, this takes into account not only sugar in its pure form, but also the one found in pastries and sweet drinks.

When choosing between brown and white sugar, you should focus on your own taste preferences, since all the benefits are only in the rapid production of glucose by the body. Although brown sugar, due to the method of production, is slightly more useful than white.

www.kakprosto.ru

Sugar, such a product familiar to us, appeared in Rus' only in the 13th century, but for a long time remained an inaccessible product for the people. Even on the royal table, sugar appeared in the 16th century. Until that moment, our ancestors delighted their lives with other means: honey, birch, linden and maple sap. Sugar became widespread thanks to the ardent reformer, Peter I. It was he who issued a decree in 1718 in which the Moscow merchant Pavel Vestov was ordered to maintain a sugar factory and sell sweets.

Initially, sugar was made only from sugar cane. But in 1747, the German chemist Marggraf discovered that the little-known root crop contains no less sugar than cane. And if in those ancient times sugar beets contained about 8% sugar, then after 100 years this figure reached 20-24%. Nowadays, more than 1/3 of the sugar consumed worldwide is made from sugar beets.

Refined sugar that we are accustomed to in its pure form does not occur in nature. meets. Most plants contain glucose and fructose. Glucose is especially common. Glucose is also referred to as grape sugar (or dextrose), and fructose as fruit sugar (or levulose). Glucose is found in almost all plant organs, and is also part of the most important polysaccharides - starch, cellulose. Glucose is less sweet than fructose. Fructose, along with glucose, is found in many fruits and, together with glucose, is part of sucrose. Fructose is the sweetest natural sugar. In addition to glucose and fructose, many other sugars are found in nature: mannose, inulin, pentose, sorbose, arabilose, xylose, methylpentose, lactose (milk sugar), cellobiose, maltose ...

Why all this chemistry? Now you will understand. Sugar in various forms and in the form of complex compounds is part of almost all food products. Sugar is found in milk, vegetables and fruits, seeds, nuts, seed rinds, and even bark. But all this sugar variety is in them in complex forms. But refined - artificially refined - sugar can only be found in industrial products. It is added to ketchups, tomato paste, yogurts, juices, sausages, sausages, pickled cucumbers, but it’s not worth talking about “Kola” and other lemonades ... About sugar “horror stories” a little lower, but for now a few words about the benefits of sugar.

Sugar accompanies a person from birth - mother's milk is so sweet that it even seems unpleasant to any adult. But not just for babies! And although sugar does not contain any useful substances - no minerals, no proteins, no vitamins, you can’t do without it at all. Thanks to sugar in the blood, the process of formation of glycogen, a substance that nourishes the muscles, heart, and liver, takes place. Sugar has a positive effect on the central nervous system and stimulates the brain.

Sugar (or rather, glucose) contained in the blood serves as the only source of nutrition for the brain, providing it with the necessary energy for normal operation. If the brain does not receive enough glucose from the blood, then a crisis sets in: getting up from a chair, you feel empty in your head, dizzy, feel your heartbeat, nausea, drowsiness and stupefaction (there is no other word for it). All these symptoms indicate the onset of hypoglycemia - low blood sugar. But since sugar is so important to the body, why is it called the “sweet death”?

It's all about cleaning or refining. Purified from all impurities (and at the same time from all useful substances) sugar does not bring our body anything but harm. Moreover, if you eat a piece of sugar, a sandwich with jam or a candy on an empty stomach, then you will start the program that the pancreas performs - the work of emergency lowering blood sugar levels. As soon as a portion of sugar enters the bloodstream, the loading dose of insulin distributes the right amount of glucose to the cells that need it, and puts the rest in reserve. In the form of fat, of course. Your blood sugar drops and you feel hungry again! A vicious circle from which it is very difficult to escape.

Experts recommend consuming no more than 12 teaspoons of sugar per day. It's not just the sugar you put in your tea or coffee. In fact, sugar can be found in the most unexpected products - you just have to carefully read the labels. Manufacturers often disguise sugar under other names. The label may say "sugarcane juice", "corn sweetener", "dextrin/dextrose", "high fructose corn syrup", "fructose/maltose/sucrose/glucose", "honey", "turbinado", " brown raw sugar", "barley malt", "raw sugar" - the essence does not change. A modern person eats up to 30 tablespoons of sugar a day!

So what, in this case, is there so as not to harm your body? Here it is necessary to remember one important rule, or, more precisely, the principle of dividing food into products containing simple and complex carbohydrates. This is the glycemic (diabetic) index. This index shows how quickly the food that enters the body is converted into glucose and enters the bloodstream. The glycemic index is a valuable tool to control the intake of sugar in the body.

Foods with a high glycemic index

Foods with an average glycemic index

Foods with a low glycemic index (less than 40)

Foods with a high glycemic index quickly raise blood sugar levels, and the constant consumption of such foods can lead to serious health problems. Food with a low glycemic index slowly raises blood sugar, which means that such food will allow you to stock up on energy for a long time. And you will not have the desire to have a snack with a promotional chocolate bar!

Now you can decide for yourself - what foods to eat in the morning so that your stomach does not growl before lunch, and which ones are better to eat after a workout in order to recover faster. But general rules are as follows: in your diet should be a lot of fruits, vegetables, grains. Their advantage is that they are impossible to overeat: a large amount of food contains a minimum of calories. With such a "diet" nothing threatens your figure and health.

It is a completely different matter when it comes to semi-finished products and fast food, which are so firmly entrenched in our everyday life. menu. That's where the pantries are hidden sugar! Throw in saturated and trans fats and you're ready to eat suicide. This is not a joke or propaganda healthy lifestyle life. Doctors have been sounding the alarm for a long time. The number of patients with diabetes is growing steadily year by year, and many do not even realize that they are not all right with their health. Until, as they say, a roasted rooster pecks. If we do not take into account the hereditary predisposition to diabetes, then the picture is disappointing. Constant consumption of foods with a high glycemic index leads to the fact that the pancreas stops producing insulin. The hormonal background changes in the body, there is a tendency to obesity, heart disease piles up, diabetes occurs ...

By the way, for lovers of "light" "diet" foods like muesli, yogurt and breakfast corn flakes, it will be useful to know that with an almost complete absence of fat, such products sometimes contain a huge amount of sugar. For example, a standard cup of yogurt weighing 125 grams. can contain up to 5 tablespoons of refined sugar!

Finally, a few rules that will help you reduce sugar cravings:

. Train your taste buds to eat less sweet foods by drinking water acidified with cranberry or lemon juice instead of sugary drinks.
. Eat more fruits and sweet vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin).
. Incorporate proteins and healthy unsaturated fats into your diet to help control your appetite and blood sugar levels.
. Do not use artificial sweeteners, they prevent the body from forgetting the taste of sugar. It is better to buy a natural sweetener xylitol, it has 2 times less carbohydrates and calories than sugar.
. If sugar-free is completely unbearable, then try to find natural brown sugar in stores. Keep in mind that the vast majority of brown sugar currently sold in Russian stores is a fake, ordinary refined sugar tinted with molasses.

And finally, do not give sweets to children! It is not uncommon to have caries in children 2-3 years old, but in fact it will settle in a businesslike way on molars! Instead of store-bought sweets, dip dried fruits or nuts into melted chocolate, give your baby an apple or a banana instead of buns, and add raisins or candied fruits to sweets in cereals. Take care of yourself and the health of children!

Larisa Shuftaykina

kedem.ru

Description and composition of sugar

By its meaning, "sugar" is the word with which sucrose is called in everyday life. Sugar belongs to the group of carbohydrates that serve as important elements that give the body an energy boost. During digestion, sucrose breaks down into glucose and fructose, which enter the bloodstream.

It is with the help of glucose that most of the body's energy costs are replenished. To useful properties glucose also applies to the fact that it contributes to the work of the liver, helping it to serve as a barrier to dangerous toxic substances. It is this function of glucose that determines its appointment in case of poisoning or liver disease.

"Sugar" history

Most researchers consider India to be the birthplace of sugar, it is from this language that the name "sugar" - sarkarah, which means "grain of sand" came from. Sugar was in rather high demand even among the ancient Romans, who received brown sugar made from sugar cane directly from India. And the role of an intermediary in the sale and purchase of sugar was assigned to Egypt.

Sugar came to Russia around the 11th-12th centuries. The first to try the novelty had the opportunity only to know. And the opening of the very first "Sugar Chamber" in our country took place only in the XIII century by Tsar Peter Alekseevich. Then the raw materials for sugar production were delivered from abroad. The year 1809 is significant in that it was then that Russia began to produce sugar from its own raw materials - sugar beets.

The composition and energy value of white sugar

Sugar, of course, is very high in calories and 100 grams of it contains as much as 387 kcal. Sugar, in addition to carbohydrates, also contains a small amount of water, vitamin B2, minerals: potassium, calcium and iron.

Varieties of sugar

Sugar is cane, beet, palm, sorghum, maple and even grape.

Cane sugar

Most of the sugar we produce and use today is made from sugar cane. Brown sugar is also cane sugar, just unrefined sugar. Such sugar is often called coffee (tea). And although the companies that produce this sweet advertise brown sugar as a prestigious and environmentally friendly product, nutritionists agree that brown sugar can contain unhealthy impurities and high calorie content.

beet sugar

It is made from a root crop - sugar beet.

grape sugar

This type of sugar is obtained by thickening grape juice.

maple sugar

Maple sugar is also obtained from the sap, only sugar maple, which mainly grows in Canada. First, syrup is made from maple sap, and sugar is already made from it.

Palm sugar (jagre)

Palm sugar (jagre) is also produced from the sap of various types of palm trees, harvested by cutting flower cobs.

sorghum sugar

Sorghum sugar is obtained by processing the cereal sorghum.

About the benefits of sugar

In favor of sugar is its ability to activate blood flow both in the spinal cord and in the brain. Therefore, a complete rejection of the use of sugar can lead to sclerotic changes.

According to the observations of scientists, the use of sugar significantly reduces the likelihood of plaque formation on the walls of blood vessels, and therefore reduces the likelihood of thrombosis. It has also been noted that those with a sweet tooth are less likely to suffer from arthritis.

Sugar has a beneficial effect on the work of not only the liver, but also the spleen. Therefore, if problems arise with these organs, doctors often prescribe a diet with an increased amount of sugar.

The dangers of too much sugar

Interestingly, earlier glucose was prescribed for the treatment of diseases of the heart and blood vessels, as well as for disorders of the digestive system and the central nervous system. But since the above diseases are more typical for older people, it was noted that excess sugar in them disrupts fat metabolism, increases blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and negatively affects the state of cells.

Moreover, an increased concentration of sugar in the blood negatively affects the permeability of the walls of the arteries, literally preparing the ground for lipids to settle on the walls and increased platelet adhesion. According to nutritionists, the menu of elderly or overweight people should not be more than 15% of daily allowance consumption of carbohydrates. From the point of view of cardiology, excessive sugar is also not indicated for people who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Since it, by increasing the caloric content of food, creates favorable conditions not only for gaining extra pounds, but also for the rapid development of atherosclerosis.

Dentists are also critical of sugar. Sugar, albeit indirectly, destroys teeth, provoking the development of caries. And this happens due to the fact that the teeth are covered with microscopic plaque, consisting of bacteria, saliva and food particles. So sugar, mixing with plaque, contributes to an increase in the level of acidity in the oral cavity. And the acid formed in the mouth provokes the development of caries, corroding the enamel of the teeth.

Sugar is fast carbohydrates that are instantly absorbed into the bloodstream, increasing the level of glucose in it. Unlike fast carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates (which are found in cereals, cereals, potatoes, other vegetables and fruits, etc.) are slowly absorbed by the body, giving a long-term boost of energy and without harming the body. Of course, glucose is necessary for the full development and functioning of cells, organs and body systems. But with excessive intake of glucose or not enough mobile lifestyle, the body does not have time to use up all the "fuel reserves" and stores glucose as fat in reserve. Which is not only harmful to the figure, but also gives an unnecessary load on the pancreas.

How to make sugar healthy

It is important to know that the need for carbohydrate consumption in middle-aged people is 400-500 g per day, at an older age - 300-400 g. It is very important to understand that carbohydrates are not only in sugar, but also in other products , such as fruits, vegetables, honey, flour and confectionery, cereals, etc. Simple fast carbohydrates from sugar are almost instantly absorbed into the blood, as they are easily soluble in water. To slow down the process of sugar entering the tissues of the body, you should replace foods high in sugar with foods containing starch.

What is sugar

Most often, sugar is produced in the following form: as granulated sugar, compressed cubes of refined sugar, candy sugar, it is interesting that earlier sugar was made in the form of a “sugar loaf”. Today, portioned bags, which Benjamin Eisenstadt invented back in the last century, have become a popular form of packaging sugar. Such oblong paper bags with sugar were called “sticks”, they have not lost their popularity to this day, only one “but” ... The creator of the sugar stick meant that his invention would help people become more accurate and improve the process of tea drinking. Since the bags, it turns out, should be broken in half in the middle, without tearing off the corners. So with one movement, the sugar from the stick should have spilled into the cup, and only one neat wrapper would have remained in the hands. Despite the fact that hygienic, aesthetic and convenient for mass production, the portioned bag took root very quickly, few people knew how to open it the way it was intended.

Interestingly, over time, sugar packets have become so popular that they have even become collectibles for "glucophiles".

How much sugar should you eat

According to nutritionists, an adult should eat about 60 grams of sugar during the day, which will be about 11-12 teaspoons or 15 pieces of refined sugar. Keep in mind that many foods also contain sugar. It will not be superfluous to know that three pieces of oatmeal cookies contain 20 g of sugar, half a 100-gram chocolate bar - 60 g, one apple - 10 g, in a glass orange juice- 20 g, and in a glass of carbonated drink (sweet) - 30 g.

At the same time, however, it is a mistake to believe that the body is indifferent to you eating a fruit or a couple of pieces of sugar. This is due to the fact that sugar, as we know, is of two types: containing fast and slow (complex) carbohydrates. Fast carbohydrates are found in the so-called external sugar, which enters the body from honey, confectionery products and sweet drinks. It is this sugar that can spoil not only the figure and teeth, but also harm health. Internal sugars, those that contain complex carbohydrates, enter the body in company with fiber, which helps to remove excess sugar. Also, this sugar contains much more necessary vitamins and micronutrients.

Sugar substitutes

Speaking of sugar, one cannot but mention sweeteners. These include sorbitol, xylitol and aspartame. Appearance and sweetness of substitutes practically do not distinguish them from regular sugar. However, modern research has shown that the use of sweeteners should be subject to medical conditions, such as, diabetes or obesity. It is believed that only in this case, substitutes will bring the body more benefit than harm. It is also believed that in the elderly, sugar substitutes can provoke an acceleration in the development of atherosclerosis of the vessels.

Summing up the above, it should be noted that with excessive consumption, any food can become dangerous to human health and life. And although the importance of sugar as a food product is not in doubt, its consumption should be more than moderate.

women-gatherings.rf

Making sugar from sugar beets at home

Different ways of making beet sugar at home from scratch: from preparing raw materials to making syrup. Recipes of natural Russian products for a healthy lifestyle are now available to everyone.

Beet sugar: from the depths of history to today

It so happened historically that sugar made from cane was most widely used. Such a product was very expensive, because the main territories where the plantations were grown were far beyond the boundaries of civilized Europe and wild Rus', and, therefore, the costs associated with transportation played a significant part in the cost of the sweet substance. Perhaps the only alternative was honey. However, already in the 16th century, thanks to the scientific research of Andreas Sigismund Markgraf and a certain French botanist Achard, another method of extracting sugar from sugar beets became known to the world. By its properties, sugar obtained in this way not only makes it possible to widely use it by the population, but also has a number of advantages over its cane counterpart, namely: it has a lower calorie content and contains the maximum amount of micro and macro elements, since it does not require refining.

In Russia, beet sugar has become more widespread due to the above reasons.

The factory receives raw materials - beets. Thoroughly washed in a special washing shop and cut into uniform chips. At the next stage, this mass is fed into tanks, where it is filled with hot water. Under the action of water, the sugar and some other substances contained in it are separated from the chips, which, when oxidized, give the juice a dark brown color. To get the most out of the raw material, water leaching is carried out several times. Production waste - repeatedly soaked chips are sent to feed livestock.

At the next stage, the resulting juice is purified from impurities, first heated to 80 ° C - this allows you to get rid of protein substances, and then processed in sealed tanks with milk of lime, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Undesirable impurities at this stage precipitate, which remains in the tanks after the subsequent evaporation of the juice. Evaporation allows you to get a sweet syrup, which is then filtered and thickened in special containers. The output is granulated sugar with molasses, which is then separated from sugar crystals in centrifuges.

Beet sugar has a darker color than cane sugar, so it is washed with water at the end and dried.

Getting sugar from beets at home

You can now replace store-bought sugar with real Russian products: refined beetroot and sweet syrup.

Beetroot refined

Rinse and peel the beets. Then cut it into thin rings and place in a clay pot. Immerse the container in the oven to steam, while avoiding burning our workpiece. From time to time look into the pot - the beets should become soft. Then pour the beetroot circles onto a baking sheet and place back in the oven. Now the beets should dry out. For longer storage and improvement common properties of our beets, then it is better to lightly fry the dried rings in a pan. Just a little - it will also slightly improve the smell.

For consumption, you just have to grind these slices into flour, so they can be used to replace store-bought sugar in cooking.

For tea, you will need to roll these whole slices in flour a little and fry for butter. Tasty and healthy.

Getting syrup: the first way

Remove the roots and heads and rinse the beetroot without peeling off the skin. Place the washed root crops in dense rows in a saucepan with already boiling water. Follow the fire. Beets should be boiled in boiling water. After 1 hour, remove the root vegetables from the pan, wait for them to cool and remove the peel.

Cut the beets into thin slices no thicker than 1 mm. Place it crushed in this way under a press to obtain juice, after wrapping it in a clean canvas bag. Place the squeezed mass back into the pan, pour hot water at the rate of half the volume of root crops. This blank is for the second spin. Let it stand for half an hour, and then strain the liquid into the bowl where the juice was collected from the first extraction. Put the evaporated cake back into the canvas bag and repeat the pressing. Heat the collected juice to 70-80 ° C, and then strain through gauze folded several times.

The last step is evaporation. The juice must be evaporated until it is completely thickened in a low enameled basin or other flat vessel.

Getting syrup: the second way

Prepare, as in the first method, the beets for cooking, now removing a thin layer of skin. It is necessary to steam in an autoclave for about an hour maintaining a pressure of 1.5 atm. If there is no autoclave, you can use the boiler, which should have a grate at the bottom, but it will take more time.

Having received a soft beet, it is crushed and passed through a press twice. Strained juice is then evaporated, as in the first method.

Store the syrup in a cool place, protected from direct sunlight, like any preservation.

In baking cooking, the proportion of syrup to flour is approximately 0.75-1:1. For making jam, the ratio of syrup to berries by weight is 2:1.

I happened to visit a sugar factory, where I got acquainted with the process of making a product familiar to everyone - sugar.
Actually, it all starts with the entrance, where guests are first greeted by a gilded V.I. Lenin, somehow hinting with his gesture: “Comrade, look! Sweet there, for God's sake!
And most importantly, don't cheat. Sugar is really there, in commercial quantities.

Everyone knows that sugar cane does not grow in our country and sugar has to be extracted from beets, this not at all glamorous root crop.

Cars heavily loaded with beet are driven to the acceptance point

Weigh and then unload the contents of bodies and trailers into the bunker

It should be noted that the entire production process is automated, as evidenced by the presence of a variety of panels and consoles at all key points in the technological chain.

From the bunker, the root crops fall on the conveyor belt, which carries the raw materials into the dungeon.

It is clear that before using the beets, you need to clean it from the ground, tops, adhering stones, sand and other impurities - all this cannot get into the finished product in any case, but it is easy to ruin the equipment. To do this, the beet, following the path of supply to the production, passes through various straw traps, stone traps, sand traps. For the final cleaning of beets from contamination, root crops pass through a beet washer.

The whole process is controlled by the operator. On the monitor on the right is a diagram of the processes taking place at the cleaning and washing area, which displays operational information. The monitor on the left displays a video from a camera installed above the belt conveyor, through which the washed raw materials go to the next section.

And here is the same conveyor that the camera is looking at. Clean root crops are sent to the beet cutter.

Beet roots are fed into the beet cutter hopper and carried inside the housing, where under the influence of centrifugal force they are pressed against the cutting edge of the knives, sliding along which the beet is gradually cut into beet shavings. It is problematic to observe the process itself, but the knives look like this:

The "sugar recoverability" depends very much on the quality of the chips. It should be of a certain thickness, with a smooth, crack-free surface.

The chips obtained at the previous stage are sent along the belt conveyor to the diffusion apparatus.
Inside the diffusion column there is a screw (such a thing as in a meat grinder), with the help of which the chips move at a certain speed from the bottom up. Opposite to the movement, water continuously flows through the column of chips from top to bottom. Passing through the crushed raw materials, the water dissolves the sugar in the beet chips and becomes saturated with it. The whole process takes place without air access and at a certain temperature. As a result of the process, juice saturated with sugar accumulates at the bottom of the column, and pulp (sugar-free beet chips) is unloaded from the upper part of the apparatus.

Freshly squeezed pulp enters the pulp dryer. This is a huge, continuously rotating drum, inside which the pulp is dried in a stream of hot gas.

Dried beet pulp granules are picked up by the air flow of a pneumatic conveyor and carried away through pipes to a warehouse for subsequent sale - the “squeezed out” beet cut is fed to livestock.

The juice obtained in the process of diffusion, in addition to the sucrose we need (that is, sugar), contains many different substances, united by the term “non-sugar”. All non-sugars, to a greater or lesser extent, interfere with the production of crystalline sugar and increase the loss of a useful product. And the next technological challenge is the removal of non-sugars from sugar solutions. Why use various physical and chemical processes.

The juice is mixed with milk of lime, heated, and the precipitate is precipitated. Predefinition, defecation (that's right, I didn't misheard and didn't make a seal - in Russian it's just cleansing), saturation and many other interesting terms. At one of the stages, the juice is filtered in such installations

Along the perimeter of the filtration apparatus one can see glass flasks through which the purified juice is driven.

The resulting juice is thickened by evaporation. The resulting syrup is boiled until it crystallizes. "Cooking" sugar is the most important operation in the preparation of a sweet product. In the photo - our guide and chief technologist at the control point of the boiling section

Before us is the heart of production - vacuum devices for boiling syrup. "Cooking" takes place in a rarefied atmosphere, due to which the syrup boils at 70 degrees Celsius. At higher temperatures, the sugar will simply burn. How it happens in a frying pan :) The control panel is visible on the left. At one point, one of them yelled a siren and turned on a red flasher, signaling the need for human intervention in the automated process. Immediately one of the workers appeared and the console fell silent with satisfaction.

The device can be "milked" a little and visually check the quality of the syrup.

The syrup on the glass slide crystallizes before our eyes. It's practically sugar!

Boiled syrup - massecuite, sent for centrifugation

In the centrifuge, all excess is separated from the massecuite and goes into a special collection under the installation. And on the walls of the drum there are crystals of granulated sugar. The following photos were taken within one minute and clearly show a trace of sugar.

Unloaded from centrifuges, wet granulated sugar is transported for drying

Drying plant. The drum is spinning. Sugar inside the drum is blown with hot air (more than 100 degrees).

After drying, the sugar is cooled to room temperature with continuous mixing in the same plant. At this time, you can get to it from the end and open a secret hatch!

The dryer drum rotates and the sugar is poured, cooling.

It's time to taste the finished product! Sweet!

Dried and cooled granulated sugar is fed to the sieving machine. The photo does not convey movement, but the whole structure sways like a sieve in the hands of a grandmother :)

At the end of the sieving, the sugar is sent for packaging.

Unfortunately, at the packing station, I was asked not to shoot. Filming was allowed only after the end of the work shift and the stop of the conveyor.

The photo shows semi-automatic packing bins, next to which packers sit on benches. A bag is taken from the stack, put on the neck of the hopper, the dispenser pours 50 kg into the bag. After that, the conveyor belt moves, the neck of the bag falls into the " sewing machine”, which stitches the bag and then the sewn bag goes to the warehouse along the conveyor belt.

The company also has an automatic packaging line, it is almost the same, only there are no packers. All the action takes place in a translucent tunnel, in fact, you can only see how the machine picks up a bag from a stack, puts it on the bell of the bunker, loads a portion of granulated sugar, then sews it up and sends it to the finished product. For some reason, there were no photos of the process. Apparently he was hypnotized by self-propelled bags :)

That's all.

p.s. The production is very noisy, I did not catch much of what was said. So if I was not accurate in describing the technology and processes, do not blame me.