plantation white sugar

Plantation white sugar, also known as mill white sugar, is a type of white sugar produced directly at the sugar factory for local consumption in sugarcane-growing regions. It is made without the need for remelting and refining the raw sugar.1

The process involves injecting sulfur dioxide gas into the extracted juice. This gas bleaches colorants and is then neutralized with lime. While this results in a white sugar suitable for table use, it retains all the nonsugars present in raw sugar, making it less ideal for food processing compared to refined sugar. Higher grades of plantation white sugar can be produced using a carbonatation process, which involves reacting carbon dioxide gas with lime to form calcium carbonate that absorbs impurities.1

Historically, sugar plantations in the West Indies, particularly from the 17th century onwards, relied heavily on slave labor imported from West Africa to produce sugar for export.2