edibleSugar is mainly white sugarBrown sugarandCrystal sugarThree. The main component of these three sugars is sucrose (sugar made from beet is also sucrose).Sugar is the main part of human bodyNutritionOne of the sources is that human consumption is maintained by the heat energy generated by the oxidation of sugars. About 70% of the energy required for human activities is supplied by sugars.
The production of sugar is mainly divided into two categories, one is the traditional boiling process, the other is the modern industrial production.The traditional boiling process can only use sugar cane as raw material for production. The harvested sugar cane is cut and rolled. The juice is pressed to remove impurities such as soil, bacteria, fiber, etc., and then boiled in a low heat for 5 to 6 hours. The water is slowly evaporated by continuous mixing, so that the sugar concentration gradually increases. The high concentration syrup will solidify into solid lumpy crude sugar after cooling,That is brown sugar brick.This traditional practice maintains the original nutrition of sugarcane, while also giving brown sugar a special flavor similar to caramel.The longer the cooking time is, the darker the brown sugar brick will be, which will make the brown sugar appear reddish brown in different shades.
The brown sugar is redissolved, heated, and added with appropriateanimal charcoalAbsorb impurities inside, and then cool to formSupersaturated solutionSucrose molecules are recrystallized and precipitated to form white granulated sugar.
The white granulated sugar is dissolved again after adding water, and an appropriate amount of egg white is added. After being heated, filtered, boiled, concentrated and crystallized for 7 days, it becomes rock sugar after drying.
Modern technology
Put sugar cane orbeetPress out the juice, filter out the impurities, and add proper amount ofLimewater, neutralize the acid contained in it (because sucrose is easy tohydrolysisGlucose andfructose）, and then filter to remove the precipitation, and pass the filtrate into carbon dioxide to precipitate the lime water intocalcium carbonateAfter repeated filtration, the filtrate obtained is the aqueous solution of sucrose. Put the sucrose water in the vacuumVacuum evaporationConcentrate and cool, and then the reddish brown slightly sticky crystals will be separated to obtain the raw sugar (according to the relevant food laws and regulations of China, the raw sugar cannot be eaten directly because it contains more impurities).
Dissolve the raw sugar in water and addSulfite(vulcanizationMethod) or carbonic acid (carbonization method), used to remove impurities in raw sugar, absorb colored substances in water, and then filter, heat, concentrate, cool and crystallize, a white crystal white sugar will appear.
The above method of producing white granulated sugar through two steps, called two-step method, is the most commonly used sugar production process in the world.However, this process cannot produce brown sugar, so domestic sugar production enterprises usually use a one-step process, which does not produce raw sugar in the production process. Instead, the pressed sugarcane juice is treated through multiple processes, including sulfite purification (or other methods of purification), pre liming and heating processes, sulfur fumigation and neutralization of sugarcane juice, sedimentation of sugarcane juice, and filtration of sugarcane juice,After purification, the sugarcane juice is concentrated and crystallized to become white granulated sugar.
The white granulated sugar can be dissolved and crystallized to form crystal sugar.According to the production process andFinished productsRock candy is divided intoCrystal rock sugarAnd polycrystalline rock sugar.The production method of single crystal crystal crystal sugar is to put white granulated sugar into appropriate amount of water to heat and dissolve, filter and inputCrystallization tank, make the sugar liquid saturated, inputSeed crystalAfter the crystal is grown, take it out for de honey and centrifugal drying, and dry it by air,SievingThe finished product is ready after grading.Polycrystalline rock sugar is white granulated sugar that is heated and dissolved in appropriate amount of water, boiled, and then put into the crystallization basin after reaching a certain concentration. After one week of crystal cultivation in the crystallization chamber, take outmother liquorAfter the sand bottom is removed, crushed and dried, the product is mixed or graded into finished products.
As early as in the primitive society, human beings would taste pleasant sweetness through fruits and honey in nature.Honey, in particular, became the main source of sweetness when human wisdom and technology could not extract sugar from plant materials.With the growing demand for honey, people began to artificially breed bees.In ancient Egypt, India and other countries, people not only used honey as a food sweetener, but also used it as a tribute to gods and a prescription for curing diseases.In addition, in the process of germination, plant seeds generally produce saccharifying enzymes to hydrolyze starch into maltose.The sticky maltose is the first sugar produced in the world.[3]
Compared with honey and maltose, sugar from sugarcane is a later sweetener.Sugarcane is suitable for growing in the tropics and subtropics, and its origin is difficult to determine.Some scholars believe that sugarcane was first planted in New Guinea in ancient times, and then spread to the Philippines and India.At the beginning, people just chewed and sucked the juice of sugarcane directly or squeezed it before drinking.Later, people boiled and cooled the sugarcane juice to make sugar balls, realizing the transformation of sugar from liquid state to solid state.[3]
After sugar was introduced into the Arabian Peninsula from India, with the expansion of Arabs and the spread of Islam, sugar cane planting and sugar consumption began to spread in the Mediterranean region.With the Crusade, Europeans, on the one hand, introduced finished sugar products from the Islamic world, on the other hand, learned sugarcane planting and sugar refining technology.[3]
Sugar production technology in China
China is one of the earliest sugar producing countries in the world.According to the Book of Songs, as far back as the Western Zhou Dynasty, people began to understand how to use grains to make maltose (maltose) to obtain sweeteners.Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the history books of all dynasties have recorded the production of maltose.Among them, the Secretary of Qimin Yaoshu is the most detailed.The methods and steps of making maltose described in the book are even basically the same as those of today.[3]
According to Chu Ci, sugar cane (written as "Zhe" at that time) was planted in southern China during the Warring States Period, and sugarcane pulp was obtained from it.In the Han Dynasty, people in Guangdong and Guangxi began to rough process sugarcane pulp to produce sucrose with high concentration and easy storage and consumption through exposure, boiling and other primitive methods.During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, sugar cane planting became more and more popular, the planting area was wider, and the technology was also improved. Sugar can be made into crystals, but it is still very rough and contains many impurities.[3]
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, cultural, scientific and technological exchanges between China and India were very frequent.Among them, the introduction of Indian sugar making method played an important role in the development of Chinese sugar making technology.Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty felt that Indian sugar (molasses) was easy to preserve and eat, so he sent envoy Wang Xuance to India to learn sugar technology in Mojituo.After the advanced Indian sugar production technology was brought back to Chang'an by Wang Xuance, the imperial court began to trial produce sugar based on the Indian sugar production method, and successfully produced sugar with improved color and quality.In the period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Xuance was ordered to invite 10 sugar making experts from India to produce light and bright refined granulated sugar, which further improved and perfected the sugar making technology in China.[3]
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the technology and quality of sugar making in China continued to improve, producing a kind of extremely delicate and white frosting that is often used as the material of poetry.As the earliest monograph on sugar production in China, the "Frost Manual" written by Wang Zhuo in the Song Dynasty provides a comprehensive technical summary of sugar production in theory.During this period, a large number of immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong came to Taiwan, bringing sugarcane planting and sugar manufacturing technology.Because the climate in Taiwan is suitable for planting sugarcane, the sugar industry has developed rapidly and become one of the main sugar production bases in China.[3]
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people formed a set of practical sugar technology and experience on the basis of previous sugar technology, and produced refined sugar that was as white as snow and crystal clear.In the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" written by Song Yingxing, this sugar production method, which took a leading position in the world sugar production at that time, was discussed in detail.During this period, with the commercialization of China's sugar and the development of the world's sugar trade, China's sugar output increased, and participated in global international trade with tea, silk and other materials.[3]
Modern sugar trade
With the advent of the "era of great navigation", the biological species exchange and commodity trade between the continents rose unprecedentedly, and sugarcane planting and sugar production technology was also spread to the Americas by European colonialists.Because sugarcane planting has strict requirements for climate conditions and labor force, its development as a commercial trade crop has been delayed for a long time.As the colonists trafficked a large number of African labors to Central and South America, where the planting conditions were very good, the scale of sugarcane planting continued to expand, the sugar industry flourished, and the output of sugarcane increased day by day.At the same time, sugar has become a popular commodity in the world, and its price has also dropped to the extent that civilians can consume it, gradually becoming a necessity in people's daily life.[3]
Sugar trade has driven sugar to the mass consumption market, which not only brings great happiness to most people, but also has a certain impact on the development of world trade and the process of world history, and this impact has both a bright side and a dark side.It can be said that behind the sweetness of sucrose, there are many people's sweat and tears.[3]
Trade is one of the most important ties between countries and regions.In modern times, the triangle trade dominated by Europe truly linked Europe, Africa and the Americas for the first time.The sugar trade is one of the most important trades in the triangle trade.In the triangular trade, European industrial products were shipped to Africa, African slaves were trafficked to the Americas, and tropical commodities such as sugar in the Americas were sold to Europe.In this process, on the one hand, Europe has made great changes in the social style, ecological environment, population structure and economic mode of the Americas through the colonial movement;On the other hand, the European merchants who operated sugar quickly accumulated original capital, laying the foundation for the industrial revolution based on cotton textile.[3]
While the sugar trade accumulated a lot of wealth for Europe, it also greatly stimulated the slave trade, which caused a deep and lasting disaster for Africa.Planting sugar cane requires huge labor force.In order to produce sugar, many European colonial countries, especially Britain, treated tens of millions of African blacks as commodities, trafficked them to the other side of the Atlantic, drove them into sugar cane plantations, and forced them to do extremely inhuman work.The slave trade has taken away a large number of African people, especially young people in their prime.According to statistics, from the 16th century to the 19th century, there were at least 10 million black slaves trafficked to the Americas.This is one of the important reasons why many parts of Africa still lag behind.[3]
Use sugarcanebeetAfter simple filtration and clarification, sugar crystals are formed by boiling concentration and central separation.It is light brown.Sometimes slightlymolassesOr water.It is the most important sugar product in international trade.Raw sugar is only used as raw material for sugar refining, and cannot be directly added to food or eaten.
White granulated sugar
Sugarcane and sugar beet as raw materials (one-step method) orraw sugarIt is the raw material (two-step method), which is extracted, filtered, impurity removed, clarified (not required for raw sugar in the above steps)Vacuum concentrationIt is obtained after boiling, de honey, sugar washing and drying.White granulated sugar is the most important type of edible sugar. In foreign countries, almost 100% of edible sugar is white granulated sugar, and in China, white granulated sugar accounts for more than 90% of the total amount of edible sugar.White granulated sugar can be divided into refined sugar, superior sugar, primary sugar and secondary sugar.
fine white sugar
fine white sugarWith white granulated sugarraw sugarAs raw materials (also directly used in Xinjiang and other placesbeetProduction), which is recrystallized after dissolution.Soft white sugar is a kind of edible sugar preferred by domestic consumers.It is soft and delicate in texture, with fine crystalline particles, and about 2.5%golden syrup Therefore, the taste is better thanGranulated sugarSweet.There are three grades of soft white sugar: refined, superior and first grade.
Brown granulated sugar
The by-product of white granulated sugar production with sugarcane as raw material through one-step process.It is also the main brown sugar product in the market.The main component is sucrose, in addition, it contains a certain amount of glucose, fructosemolasses, trace elements, vitamins and other nutrients.
Yellow granulated sugar
Also calledGold granulated sugar, mainly produced and sold in Guangdong, Hong Kong and other places.It contains certain nutrients without honeyGranulated sugar。The color is light yellow.Its production process is similar to that of white granulated sugar, but the nutrients inside are not completely filtered in the production process, so it preserves some sugarcane flavor and nutrition, and retains many natural minerals.
Brown sugar powder
Brown sugar powder is also calledPowdered sugar, which means directly usingSugar cane juiceAs raw material, it is the powdered brown sugar produced without the process of extracting white granulated sugar.It is generally produced by indigenous methods.It is made from sugarcane juice after being concentrated, dried and crushed.Because it contains more water, it should not be placed too long, and it is easy to turn water and deteriorate in high temperature season.
Truffle
Lump sugar is a traditional brown sugar. According to the different molds used in production, it is generally divided into slice sugar, brick sugar (cube), bowl sugar, Yuanbao sugar, basket sugar, etc.Its production process is made of sugarcane juice, concentration, cooling and crystallization.
Processed brown sugar
Also known as artificial brown sugar, it is made from waste molasses produced in the production of rock sugar through concentration, cooling and crushing (continuous stirring during cooling).It contains more reducing sugar, but has no flavor and nutrition of brown sugar. It is a sugar with lower nutritional value.
Polycrystalline rock sugar
Also known asOld Rock Candy, native rock candy, rock candy, etc.It is irregular crystal crystal candy produced by traditional technology.According to the different production processes, it can be divided into suspension method of rock candy (the finished product can be divided into icicles and ice rims, with impurities such as cotton thread and paper chips) and pot crystallization method (all rock candy crystallizes along the crystallization basin, and the finished product is relatively pure).It can be divided into white rock candy, yellow rock candy and amber rock candy (gray) according to different colors.This kind of rock sugar has the medicinal effect of rock sugar, which is called by traditional Chinese medicine.
Crystal rock sugar
It is in regular crystal shape.It is a new type of rock candy produced in the 1960s.The production process is as follows: put white granulated sugar into appropriate amount of water to heat and dissolve, filter and inputCrystallization tank, make the sugar liquid reach supersaturation, and then inputSeed crystalAfter the crystal is grown, it is taken out for de honey and centrifugal drying, and then dried by ventilation,Sieving, made by grading.Crystal rock sugarIt does not have the medicinal effect of rock sugar as mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine.
Borneol sugar
Borneol sugarIt is a kind of sugar with large output, wide market and deep love in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao, the Pearl River Delta, western Guangdong and Guangxi, where Cantonese is popular.Heat and concentrate the crystal mother liquor (waste honey) left in the process of making rock sugar, and then add acid liquor to convert part of it into monosaccharides for later shaping.The concentrated sugar solution is produced by processes such as mixing, netting, scribing, cooling, off netting, slicing and sorting.Golden yellow and bright, with rich surfacewaxy luster The cross section is evenly divided into the upper, middle and lower layers, of which the upper and lower layers are agglomerates with denser tissue, and the middle layer is the "sand line" composed of sucrose crystals with smaller particle size.
Sugar cube
Sugar cubeAlso calledHalf cube sugar, using finegrainThe refined granulated sugar, which is pressed into a semi square shape (half of a cube), has a history of many years abroad.The production of square sugar is to use refined sugar with proper crystal size and a small amount ofRefined sugarConcentrated solution(orCrystal water）Mix to form a wet sugar with moisture content of 1.5~2.5%, then use a molding machine to form a semi block, dry it to moisture content below 0.5% through a dryer, cool it and pack it.
Health sugar
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Health brown sugar
On the basis of traditional brown sugar, it is a new trend for the development of brown sugar to become a healthy brown sugar by adding some food with health care effects.This kind of product first appeared in Japan, and the most common is to add ginsengthree sevenAnd other Chinese herbal medicines, through reasonable compatibility with brown sugar, increase the health care effect of brown sugar, and become a new generationHealth brown sugar。At present, the common health brown sugar in China includesGinger brown sugar、Motherwort brown sugar、Maternal brown sugar、Donkey hide gelatin brown sugar、Rose brown sugarGirls' brown sugar, jujube ginger brown sugar, jujube brown sugar, medlar brown sugar, longan brown sugar, etc.The production process is mainly divided into two categories: simple mixing type and high-temperature boiling type.
Health candy
In the traditional production process of polycrystalline rock sugar, a new type of rock sugar with health functions is produced by adding some auxiliary ingredients with health functions.CommonHealth candyincludePear juice rock sugar、Chrysanthemum rock candyLily crystal sugar, green tea crystal sugar, etc.The key point of the production process is to replace the water in the production process of rock sugar with the juice and boiling liquid of the auxiliary materials, and its effective ingredients crystallize together with rock sugar.
Powdered sugar
Powdered sugarIt is white powdery sugar with very fine particles.According to different raw materials, it can be divided into white granulated sugar powder and ice sugar powder. The former is mainly used for western food cooking, and the latter is mainly used as a sweetener for high-end drinks.According to different production processesspray drying There are two methods: direct pulverization method and direct pulverization method.The traditional sugar powder will add about 3~10% starch mixture (generallycorn flour）It can prevent moisture and tangle of sugar granules.
Seven things about opening the door:“daily necessaries”。In fact, sugar is also indispensable in people's daily lifecondimentIt is used for cooking, cooking porridge, making snacks and snacks.There are many kinds of sugar, but many people don't know what the difference is.Some people say that "women can't live without brown sugar for a hundred days". Some people think that rock sugar is nutritious and sweetest. Are these statements scientific?
If you compare the sweetness and taste of various sugars, the result will surprise many people: white sugar with high purity is not as sweet as brown sugar.However, the sweet taste of white sugar is pure.Generally speaking, white sugarYellow sugarIt is suitable for flavoring coffee or black tea, and brown sugar is also often used for flavoring dishes.Brown sugar has specialmolassesTaste, suitable for cookingRed bean soup, ProductionRed bean paste, steamingSweet rice cakeEtc.Rock sugar has a sweeter taste, and is often used to make braised and simmered dishes and soups, such asTremella fuciformis with rock sugar、Rock sugar pork, rock candy rabbit pieces, etc.Rock sugar can not only make dishes have special flavor, but also increase the luster of dishes.Rock sugar is warm and has the effect of relieving cough and resolving phlegm. It is widely used as high-grade tonic and health care products produced in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Using granulated sugar to make cakes can not only make them taste sweet, but also make them fluffy and soft. Cake is the best example.Fried eggAdd some sugar to make the eggs more tender and smooth.In addition, like salt, sugar can also extend the shelf life of food, such as candied fruit and jam.
People usually eat white sugar, but white sugar is vulnerable to pathogens during transportation and storageMicrobial contamination, especially easy to bemitePollution.If mites enter the digestive tract for parasitism, they will cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms to varying degrees, which is called "intestinal acariasis" in medicineurinary system, may also cause frequent urinationUrgency of urination、UrinalgiaAnd other symptoms.Do it directlysaladSpecial attention should be paid to the sugar used and the sugar for infants or the elderly.It is recommended to heat the food added with white sugar.When heated to 70 ℃, mites will die within 3 minutes.Families should not buy too much white sugar, especially in summer when the temperature is high, and it should not be stored for a long time.The sugar purchased should be stored in a dry place and sealed with a cover.[1]
Industry trends
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It is estimated that the global sugar consumption in 2022 will increase by 23.9% to 204 million tons compared with the benchmark period (2010-2012 average), the output will increase by 22.2% to 212 million tons compared with the benchmark period, the inventory will increase by 9.6 million tons to 74 million tons, and the inventory consumption will decrease by 2.8 percentage points to 36.2% compared with the benchmark period.
In terms of demand, with the global economic recovery andWorld populationThe consumption of sugar continued to increase, showing a steady growth trend.Sugar consumption in developing countries is growing rapidly. In the next decade, Asia and Africa will become the main forces driving the growth of global sugar consumption.Other alternatives to sugar, such asFructose syrupThe consumption of such sweeteners has increased rapidly, but sugar is still the main source of sweeteners.according toIntelligent research consultingData analysis of global sugar consumption in the next decadeAverage annual growth rateAbout 1.9%, slightly lower than the average growth rate in the past decade.
In terms of supply,Sugar cropsThe expansion of planting area is limited, and the increase of yield mainly comes from the increase of per unit area yield, while the increase rate of per unit area yield of sugar crops is less than that in the past decade, with an average annual growth rate of about 1.9%.In addition, most of the increase in sugar production comes from sugarcane rather thanbeet。Since sugarcane production is concentrated in Brazil and other major countries, the concentration of supply has exacerbated the volatility of the market.[2]
Diabetes has nothing to do with sugar
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Sugar molecules are simple in structure and can be directly absorbed without the action of digestive enzymes.If you eat too much sugar, it will inevitably affect the human body's intake of other nutrients, which will affect the absorption of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals.In particular, children should not eat too many sweets or drink too much sugary drinks, otherwise it will affect their appetite and normal growth.
However, many epidemiological studies have shown that sugar intake is not directly related to the incidence of obesity and the rise of blood lipids, while fat intake is closely related to both.The onset of diabetes is due to the dysfunction or damage of the islets of langerhans, which has nothing to do with eating sugar.However, diabetics should not eat sugar at will, because the easily absorbed sugar will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, making the damaged islets more affordable and aggravating the disease.
The sugar left in the mouth will corrode the teeth and cause dental caries after being decomposed into acid by bacteria in the mouth, so pay attention to cleaning the mouth after eating sugar or sugary food.
Application of sugar in food
Sugar itself is not harmful to microorganisms. It mainly reduces the water content of the mediumactivity, reduce the available microbial growth activitiesFree moisture, and borrowosmotic pressureIt leads to the separation of cytoplasm, which can inhibit the growth of microorganisms.[1]
