History of sugar production
Before we talk about the different types of sugar and introduce them, it is better to know a little more about its history and the time of its first appearance. The sugarcane plant was known by the people living on the islands of the South Pacific since almost 20 thousand years BC and it grows naturally in those areas. But when it comes to extracting sugar from this plant, we should mention the people of India. They were able to extract raw sugar from sugar cane for the first time in 500 BC. They called this sugar gur, which means “sweet-tasting”. Extraction of sugar from sugarcane and its methods gradually spread from India to other countries, including the Middle East and Europe. At the beginning of the emergence of this sweet substance, it was considered as an expensive and luxurious substance and it was used only in the homes of nobles and royal families. But at that time, common people used honey to sweeten food. The sugar cane plant was brought to the Caribbean islands by Christopher Columbus and thus sugar was introduced to the whole world.
Sugar and its different types
Sugar is a sweet food substance, the main ingredient of sugar and sugar is sucrose, and they are classified as saccharides, which are classified as carbohydrates. In fact, sucrose is crystallized and produced from sugar cane or sugar beet. Sucrose is a type of disaccharide. This sweet food item is used in applications such as sweets and chocolates, industrial bread, cakes and biscuits, all kinds of soft drinks, juices, jelly, sauces, jams, etc. Consuming this substance, even in small amounts, produces a lot of calories, which may eventually cause various diseases. After refining, sugarcane becomes sugar or sugar syrup (molasses). Molasses is a type of thick and brown substance that contains amounts of antioxidants, minerals and iron. Minerals in molasses include potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, copper, sodium, manganese, zinc and vitamin B. Molasses is a nutritious and valuable substance in sugarcane. When sugar is cooked, it turns darker and becomes so-called caramel, which gives the sweets a pleasant color when they are baked. This food item also contains a compound called hydroxy which absorbs and preserves moisture, the reason for the slow drying of some breads and cakes is the presence of sugar in them.
