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4: Sugar

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    92906

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    • 4.1: Sugar Chemistry (ADD US)
    • 4.2: Sugar Refining
    • 4.3: The Application of Sugar
      Sugar is the third most used ingredient in the bakeshop. Sugar has several functions in baking. The most recognized purpose is, of course, to sweeten food, but there are many other reasons sugar is used in cooking and baking.
    • 4.4: Agave
      Agave has gained popularity in the food industry due to some of its nutritional properties. The agave nectar is obtained from the sap of the heart of the agave plant, a desert succulent, which is also used to produce tequila. The syrup/sugar production process of agave is similar to that of sugar.
    • 4.6: Honey
      Honey is a natural food, essentially an invert sugar. Bees gather nectar and, through the enzyme invertase, change it into honey. Honey varies in composition and flavor depending on the source of the nectar. The average composition of honey is about 40% levulose, 35% dextrose, and 15% water, with the remainder being ash, waxes, and gum.
    • 4.7: Malt
      Malt is the name given to a sweetening agent made primarily from barley. The enzymes from the germ of the seeds become active, changing much of the starch into maltose, a complex sugar. Maltose has a distinct flavor and is used for making yeast products such as bread and rolls. Malt is considered to be relatively nutritious compared to other sweeteners.
    • 4.8: Maple Syrup (ADD US)
      Maple syrup is made by boiling and evaporating the sap of the sugar maple tree. Because sap is only 2% or 3% sugar, it takes almost 40 liters of sap to make 1 liter of syrup. This makes maple syrup a very expensive sweetener. It is prized for its unique flavor and sweet aroma. Don’t confuse maple-flavored pancake or table syrup with real maple syrup. Table syrup is made from inexpensive glucose or corn syrup, with added caramel coloring and maple flavoring.
    • 4.9: Sugar Substitutes (ADD US)
      Food additives such as sugar substitutes, which cover both artificial sweeteners and intense sweeteners obtained from natural sources, are subject to rigorous controls under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. New food additives (or new uses of permitted food additives) are permitted only once a safety assessment has been conducted and regulatory amendments have been enacted.
    • 4.5: Glucose/Dextrose
      The sugar known as glucose has two origins: (1) in a natural form in most fruits and (2) n a processed form from corn (corn syrup) In baking, we usually refer to industrially made glucose. It is made from corn and the resulting product, a thick syrup, is then adjusted to a uniform viscosity or consistency.

    Thumbnail: Sugars; clockwise from top-left: White refined, unrefined, brown, unprocessed cane. (Public Domain; Romain Behar).

    Contributors and Attributions

    Sorangel Rodriguez-Velazquez (American University). Chemistry of Cooking by Sorangel Rodriguez-Velazquez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted

    This page titled 4: Sugar is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sorangel Rodriguez-Velazquez via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.