- Key People:
- Sir Norman Haworth
- Hans von Euler-Chelpin
- Related Topics:
- powdered sugar
- mother liquor
- beet sugar
- white sugar
- brown sugar
sugar
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What is sugar as a chemical compound?
As a chemical compound, sugar refers to sweet, colorless, and water-soluble carbohydrates found in plants and milk. The most common sugar is sucrose, a disaccharide composed of one molecule of glucose linked to one molecule of fructose, with the formula (C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}).
Monosaccharides, or simple sugars, like glucose, fructose, and galactose, have the same molecular formula ((C_6H_{12}O_6)) but different structural arrangements. Two linked simple sugar molecules form a disaccharide, such as sucrose (glucose + fructose).
Sugars are classified into four major groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Sucrose is derived from sugarcane and sugar beets, with the former grown in tropical areas and the latter in temperate zones.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are the most common types of sugar?
Sugars, or carbohydrates, are classified into four main groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Common types of sugars:
* Monosaccharides Monosaccharides, also known as simple sugars, include glucose (also called dextrose, grape sugar, or corn sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and galactose.
* Disaccharides Disaccharides, or double sugars, consist of two linked monosaccharides. Common disaccharides are sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar), and maltose. Sucrose consists of one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule.
* High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Common forms of HFCS include HFCS-42 (42% fructose, 58% glucose) and HFCS-55 (55% fructose, 45% glucose).
* Sugar Alcohols Sugar alcohols like sorbitol (d-glucitol) and d-mannitol are used as sweetening agents.
* Pentoses The most-important pentoses include xylose, arabinose, ribose, and deoxyribose.
* Hexoses Among the most-important aldohexoses are glucose, mannose, and galactose; fructose is a ketohexose.8 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the chemical formula for table sugar?
Table sugar is a crystalline disaccharide known as sucrose. It's a common sweetener derived from sugarcane and sugar beets.
The chemical formula for sucrose is (C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}). When sucrose undergoes hydrolysis, it breaks down into a 50:50 mixture of fructose and glucose, also known as invert sugar.
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How do sugars differ from each other chemically?
Sugars, or monosaccharides, are simple carbohydrates that can have different chemical characteristics based on their atomic structure.
For instance, glucose, fructose, and galactose share the same molecular formula ((C_6H_{12}O_6)), but their atoms arrange differently, making them isomers with distinct properties. Slight changes in these arrangements affect their biological significance, such as variations in sweetness due to the arrangement of hydroxyl groups ((\unicode{x2015}OH)).
The reactions of sugars can be associated with the aldehyde or keto group and those associated with the hydroxyl groups. Also, monosaccharides contain a chemically reactive group that is either an aldehyde group or a keto group; thus, they are frequently referred to as aldopentoses or ketopentoses or aldohexoses or ketohexoses.
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What role do sugars play in living organisms?
Sugars, or carbohydrates, are essential to living organisms. They serve as immediate and long-term energy sources. Glucose, a simple sugar, fuels cell function, and its metabolism must be carefully regulated for survival.
During photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, storing energy and releasing oxygen. Animals then use this stored energy to perform work and other activities. Sugars also form structural components like cellulose in plant cell walls and chitin in insect exoskeletons.
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How is sugar produced and processed for human use?
Sugar is typically extracted from sugarcane or sugar beets, though it is found in most plants.
Production
- Extraction: Sugarcane is chopped, shredded, and crushed to extract the juice. Sugar beets are sliced into strips and soaked in hot water to extract the sugar.
- Purification: The extracted juice is purified to remove impurities.
- Concentration: The purified juice is concentrated through evaporation into a thick syrup.
- Crystallization: Fine seed crystals are added to the syrup to encourage the formation of sugar crystals.
- Separation and Drying: The mixture is spun in centrifuges to separate the sugar crystals from molasses. The crystals are then washed, dried, and cooled.
Processing
- Refining: Raw sugar is dissolved and treated to remove remaining impurities and colorants.
- Crystallization: The refined sugar is crystallized again.
- Packaging: The sugar is dried, packaged, and stored in various forms, such as granulated sugar, powdered sugar, or sugar cubes.
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News •
sugar, any of numerous sweet, colourless, water-soluble compounds present in the sap of seed plants and the milk of mammals and making up the simplest group of carbohydrates. The most common sugar is sucrose, a crystalline tabletop and industrial sweetener used in foods and beverages.
As a chemical term, “sugar” usually refers to all carbohydrates of the general formula Cn(H2O)n. Sucrose is a disaccharide, or double sugar, being composed of one molecule of glucose linked to one molecule of fructose. Because one molecule of water (H2O) is lost in the condensation reaction linking glucose to fructose, sucrose is represented by the formula C12H22O11 (following the general formula Cn[H2O]n − 1).
Sucrose is found in almost all plants, but it occurs at concentrations high enough for economic recovery only in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and sugar beets (Beta vulgaris). The former is a giant grass growing in tropical and subtropical areas; the latter is a root crop growing in temperate zones. Sugarcane ranges from 7 to 18 percent sugar by weight, while sugar beets are from 8 to 22 percent sugar by weight. Sucrose from either source (or from two relatively minor sources, the sugar maple tree and the date palm) is the same molecule, yielding 3.94 calories per gram as do all carbohydrates. Differences in sugar products come from other components isolated with sucrose.
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The first cultivated sugar crop was sugarcane, developed from wild varieties in the East Indies—probably New Guinea. The sugar beet was developed as a crop in Europe in the 19th century during the Napoleonic Wars, when France sought an alternate homegrown source of sugar in order to save its ships from running blockades to sugarcane sources in the Caribbean. Sugarcane, once harvested, cannot be stored because of sucrose decomposition. For this reason, cane sugar is generally produced in two stages, manufacture of raw sugar taking place in the cane-growing areas and refining into food products occurring in the sugar-consuming countries. Sugar beets, on the other hand, can be stored and are therefore generally processed in one stage into white sugar.