It is impossible to imagine the life of a modern person without sugar.
Humanity still does not know for sure in what century people were able to produce sugar and how long ago they began to use it in the diet. According to scientists, The history of sugar originates in India more than 3000 BC. e..
For the first time, sugar could be obtained from sugar cane. The first mention of the product is described in the Indian ancient epic "Ramayana", and Sugar got its name from the Indian word “sarkara.”, which translated means sweet.
In the Middle East, they learned about sugar at the beginning of the 4th century BC. e., thanks to the Arabs who brought the product from India. It is believed that the method of producing refined sugar was first invented in Persia. The Persians were the first to come up with a method for obtaining a sweet, refined product by digesting the raw material several times and purifying it. After a while, Portuguese and Spanish traders and travelers learned about the miracle plant.

Good to know: sugar was originally called not sugar at all, anything like “sweetness,” “honey made without bees,” “sweet salt,” but not sugar.

Europeans' introduction to sugar

Europeans first learned about cane sugar in 325 BC. e. thanks to the great naval commander and explorer Nearc after his voyage across the Indian Ocean. However, the product was not widely used at that time. Only at the beginning of the 7th century, when the Arabs conquered Asia and brought the plant to the Mediterranean, sugar gradually began to win hearts. The plant has successfully acclimatized in the Great Nile Valley and Palestine. After a while, reed appears in Syria and then conquers Spain and northern Africa.

A new stage in the popularization of sugar began in the 12th century, thanks to the Crusaders’ campaigns in Syrian and Palestinian lands, from where the plant entered the Mediterranean countries. Historically and geographically, with the development of sugar trade in the XIV-XV centuries. Venice was the sugar capital. All sugar supplies from India stopped here. Here the processing and purification of raw materials was carried out, giving sugar the shape of a cone, after which the product was distributed throughout the entire territory of the old world.

Good to know: at the beginning of the 14th century in England, the cost of one teaspoon of sugar was equivalent to one modern American dollar.

At the beginning of the 15th century. After the Portuguese colonized new territories, sugar cane began to be grown in Madeira. The Canary Islands, under Spanish control, become the site of active cultivation of the plant. Now every European country sought to establish its own production of the sweet product.

Good to know: until the French Revolution of 1789, France occupied the first place among the leading countries in consuming sugar from cane.

America's first sugar

After Christopher Columbus discovered America, the history of sugar received a new round of development. For the first time in the new world, sugar cane seedlings were planted on the island of San Domingo, where by 1505 the first sugar was produced. Thirteen years later, 28 enterprises for growing and processing sugar cane operated on the island. After some time, the plant enters the territory of Peru, Mexico and Brazil.
For 300 years, most of the world's sugar production was concentrated in the Caribbean. But the story of the spread of sugar cane did not end. It turned out that the climate of Indonesia, Hawaii, the Philippine archipelago and the French colonies located on the islands in the Indian Ocean is very favorable for growing the plant. And already By the beginning of the 19th century, the entire globe knew about sugar cane.

How did sugar come from sugar beets?

The fact that beets contain sugar first became known in 1575, thanks to the works of the famous researcher Olivier de Seurat. Only two centuries later, in 1747, this discovery was proven by the German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraff. Thanks to his experiments, he was able to isolate a small amount of sugar from three types of beets. The scientist himself did not yet understand what a great discovery he had made. He published data about his work in a French scientific journal, but there was no reaction from readers or the scientific world.
After some time, Sigismund Marggraf had a follower and student, Karl Franz Achard, who was able to in 1799. present the scientific work done to a high audience. Akhard managed to prove that it is much more profitable to obtain sugar from beets than from sugar cane. As a result, already in 1801 The first sugar factory producing sugar from beets appears.
After Karl Achard opened his own factory, his life was filled with great difficulties. Life was not easy for the scientist, because cane sugar traders declared an unspoken war on him, ridiculing his name in magazines, cartoons, and even tried to bribe him. Karl Achard died in great poverty in 1821. But in 1892 Memorial plaques with their portraits were installed on the academy building where scientists Sigismund Marggraff and Karl Achard worked.

When did sugar appear in Russia?

Sugar was first brought to Russia from Europe in the 11th–12th centuries. At that time, this product in Russia was available only to wealthy and wealthy people. The first sugar production plant in the Mother See was opened by Peter I and was called the “sugar chamber”. Raw materials for production were imported exclusively from abroad. At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia was able to establish its own production of raw materials, growing sugar beets, first near Tula, and then in other regions of the great power.

So, there are about 7 days left until the end of the month. And we have just 7 more unsolved topics! You must not be lazy and place at least one order per day. And today we listen to the “veteran” of this section renatar

Am I tired of my ideas yet?
I can suggest a completely different topic - tell us about sugar, especially why these days it is not as sweet as it used to be, why they started doing this to it.

Sugar is a sweet product that people learned to extract from sugar cane quite a long time ago. This perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Saccharum was cultivated in India as early as 3,000 BC. When in 327 BC. e. The soldiers of Alexander the Great entered Indian soil, their attention, among countless miracles, was attracted by an unknown white solid substance with a sweet taste - the first raw sugar in the history of mankind.

The Greek historian Onesicritus, who accompanied Alexander the Great on campaigns and was amazed by the fact that “in India, reed produces honey without bees,” told humanity about this. The Indians called the sweet crystals that were extracted from sugar cane juice “sakkara”, from the ancient Indian “sarkara” (literally: “gravel, pebbles, sand, granulated sugar”). The root of the word subsequently entered many languages: in Greek saccharon, in Latin saccharum, in Persian šdkdr, in Arabic sukkar, in Italian zucchero, in France first zucre, then sucre, in England sugar, in Spain azъcar, in Germany Zucker and, finally, in Russia “sugar”.

It is this sweet substance, which is called either “sweet life” or “white death” that we will talk about today. As expected, first let’s dive a little into Her Majesty’s history.

Man has always had an instinctive attraction to the taste of sugar, so the history of sugar is intertwined with the history of nature, which generously gave us thousands of plants and fruits containing sugar.

Sugar cane and honey, over the millennia that preceded the industrial era, became established as the preferred suppliers of sugar to humanity. Sugar cane, in fact, contained easily extracted sugar of high concentration - sucrose, the artisanal production of which was quite simple and storage was simple.

Sugar cane has been used since primitive times and has been grown since ancient times. According to the most recent theories, the botanical origin of "sacharum robustum" originates in New Guinea and the surrounding islands. From here, sugarcane first moved east, settling in the Hebrides, New Caledonia, and the Fiji Islands. Later, sugarcane headed west and northwest, reaching the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Indochina and China.

Sugar cane, brought by the Arabs from India, began to be cultivated in the Middle East already in the 3rd century BC, and, most likely, it was the Persians who were the first to produce a kind of refined sugar by repeatedly digesting the raw sugar. It is quite natural that the enterprising Spaniards and Portuguese, who became acquainted with this sweet plant from the same Arabs, eventually founded its plantations in the Canaries, Madeira and Cape Verde. There was no need to talk about benefits - at the beginning of the 14th century in England they gave 44 pounds sterling for 1 pound of sugar, which in terms of modern prices is approximately 1 dollar per teaspoon. That is why in the Middle Ages sugar remained a curiosity and was even considered a medicine. However, a number of historians dispute this opinion, believing that although in the Middle Ages sugar was sold in pharmacies, in this case pharmacists acted as ordinary shopkeepers who were ordered to “supply fellow citizens with sweet gingerbread and sugar.”

Indian heritage tells us that sugarcane has been known and used since ancient times by the people of the Bay of Bengal. Near Rajmahal, there are the ruins of a city that bore the name Gur (Sugar) and even Bengal itself was called differently Gur or Gaura (land of sugar). Ancient Indian poems describe the virtues of sugar, which mythology attributes to divine origin. In China, they learned about “cane sugar” many millennia BC. The Jews mention several times in the Old Testament cane sugar, brought from India and China.

It seems that thanks to Nearcus, the admiral of Alexander the Great, the inhabitants of Western countries learned about the existence of sugar cane, 325 years before the birth of Christ. Nearc, who explored the Indian Ocean, spoke of reeds that produced honey.

Despite the fact that the historical origin of sugar is surrounded by mystery and darkness, it is known for certain that the word sugar has Indian etymology.
The Sanskrit term "sarkara" gave birth to all versions of the word sugar in Indo-European languages: sukkar in Arabic, saccharum in Latin, zucchero in Italian, seker in Turkish, zucker in German, sugar in English, sucre in French.
Sugar caravans.

Around the 3rd century BC, Indian and Persian traders began transporting sugar to the eastern Mediterranean coast, Egypt and Arabia. Many ancient writers wrote about the white substance and the possibility of its use in medicine and nutrition.

In the first century AD, the historian Pliny, in his work on natural history, speaks of sugar as follows: “Arabia produces sugar, but that from India is more famous. This is honey obtained from cane. It is white………., breaks with the teeth, the largest pieces are the size of a hazelnut. It is used only in medicine." (Historia Naturalis, book II, 17). Based on this text, we can conclude that sugar now became a solid product, which facilitated its transportation by caravans through Central Asia to the Mediterranean ports, from where it was further sent to Greece and the Roman Empire.

However, the use of sugar remained quite limited until the Arabs, who in the 7th century conquered Asia, brought sugar cane from there and attempted to acclimatize it in the Mediterranean countries they occupied. Thus, sugar cane was able to take root first of all in Egypt, then in the Nile Valley and Palestine, on the coast of the Jordan. The Arabs taught the Persians the art of making solid sugar. Under their influence, sugar cane soon conquered Syria, all of North Africa, Cyprus, Rhodes, the Balearic Islands, then the south of Spain.

Meanwhile, Christian Europe practically ignores this exotic product, which gradually appears in the royal courts and among some pharmacists, arriving with caravans from distant Asia.

Thanks to the Crusaders, sugar has become increasingly popular and widespread since the 12th century. They open sugar cane plantations in Syria and Palestine, grown by Arabs. Thanks to their efforts, precious cane is established in the Greek archipelago, Sicily, southern Italy and France.

The new “spice” is sold by pharmacists at very high prices and in various shapes: powdered sugar, cone-shaped, shapeless sugar loaves.

The East remains the main supplier of sugar to Western countries, whose needs are constantly growing.

The sugar trade begins to develop and Venice, which exercises a monopoly of trade with the eastern Mediterranean, becomes the sugar capital of Europe. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Venetian merchants took sugar from India from Alexandria. This sugar is processed and refined in Venice, where the sugar processing industry was born in the mid-15th century.

Once the sugar was cone-shaped, it was shipped throughout Europe. Documentary sources claim that since 1319 Venice supplied England with 100,000 livres of sugar at a time.

At the beginning of the 15th century, sugar cane reached the Atlantic Islands. Don Henri, regent of Portugal, captured Madeira in 1420 and cultivated sugar cane brought from Sicily there with great success. The Spaniards also begin to grow cane in the Canary Islands. The products of the Atlantic Islands begin to compete with the East. In 1497, Vasco de Gama discovered the Cape of Good Hope, which opened the way from India to Portuguese sailors, who would soon oust the Venetian merchants from the sugar trade. Now Lisbon becomes the capital of sugar processing and supplies it to most of Europe.

Sugarcane discovers America

The discovery of the New World marked a turning point in the history of sugar. After his second voyage, in 1493, Christopher Columbus planted sugar cane in Saint-Domingue, which originated from the Canary Islands.

Around 1505, sugar was made for the first time on this island, the cradle of New World sugar production. In 1518, there were already 28 sugar factories in San Domingo; the right to import sugar into Spain allowed Charles Quint to build a palace in Madrid and Toledo. From San Domingo, sugar cane culture spread to Puerto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica between 1510 and 1520.

At the same time, sugar cane was introduced into Mexico by Fernando Cortes in 1519 and into Peru by Francesco Pizarro in 1533. The Portuguese, who conquered Brazil in 1500, established sugar cane there after 1520.

The impetus was given and all the new countries discovered and colonized during the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th century were covered with sugar plantations.

Describing his journey through the Spanish colonies in 1620, Antonio Vazquez de Espinosa notes that he encountered plantations equipped with factories for the production of sugar in almost all the countries he visited, from Mexico to San Juan and Chile, as well as in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay.

Only in the first half of the 17th century did the French in Martinique and Guadeloupe, in turn, make an attempt to grow sugar cane and produce sugar.

The British, who colonized Barbados (1627), created a sugar industry there (in 1676, Barbados could export 400 ships of sugar, 150 tons each, to England). The history of the colonization of the Antilles is colored by the ongoing struggle for it of several countries: Spain, Holland, England and France.

Martinique and Guadeloupe continue their sugar expansion: in 1790 Martinique's production was 11,300 tons and Guadeloupe's production 10,600 tons. The French introduced sugar cane to Louisiana in 1751.
The Caribbean islands are a sugar granary.

The Caribbean islands zone was for 3 centuries a real world “breadbasket of sugar”. Meanwhile, sugar cane continued its world tour around the globe. He finds a surprisingly favorable site on the French Indian Ocean islands. Lille de France (Mauritius) and the island of Bourbon (Reunion) are covered with sugar plantations. Continuing its journey, sugar cane conquers Indonesia, Formosa, the Philippines and the Hawaiian Islands.

At the beginning of the 19th century, sugar cane completed its journey around the world. It lasted 2000 years. Starting its journey from the Pacific Islands, sugar cane conquered all continents.

Many countries started sugar production, some stopped it, because its growth has always been subject to the laws of competition.

This first part of his story shows us that sugar is an international product, a food product, like spices, that travels non-stop, and that is most often consumed by people thousands of kilometers from where it is produced.

From this time on, European nations, the main consumers of sugar, tried to achieve self-sufficiency by creating sugar production in their colonies. They have their own distribution network, transport and processing. Sugar factories appear in all major European ports. After Venice and Lisbon, Antwerp became the first sugar center in Europe in the 16th century. In England, the number of sugar factories grew; in Germany there were already several factories at the end of the 16th century (Dresden, Ogsburg), and there were already 25 of them at the end of the 18th century. Rouen, Nantes, La Rochelle, and Marseille become the main sugar production centers for France.

On the eve of the revolution, France acquired first place in the trade and production of sugar in Europe; Most of the sugar, which it received mainly from the Antilles, was sent further to the north of Europe, to Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia. France also becomes one of the largest European consumers of sugar (about 80,000 tons in 1789).
The continental blockade produces beet sugar.

The French Revolution of 1789 and the international conflicts it gave rise to paralyzed the French sugar trade, which was entirely dependent on maritime transport. In 1792, France is at war with Great Britain, whose powerful fleet interferes with regular communication with the American colonies. From the first unrest, there was a restriction on the consumption of sugar, the price of which increased 10 times in 1795 compared to the beginning of the revolution.

The situation worsens when Napoleon establishes the Continental Bloc (Berlin, November 21, 1806), which closes all continental ports to English trade. The French islands are in the hands of the British. In 1808, sugar could not be found in Paris or any other major European city. This is how the idea was born to produce sugar in France, based on a plant growing on the continent, arousing the interest of numerous researchers. Sugar beets are becoming the most suitable plant for sugar production.

Since 1575, Olivier de Serres described the presence of sugar in this plant in his work “The Theater of Agricultural Culture”. Much later, in 1745, the German chemist Marggraf presented his chemical experiments to the Berlin Academy of Sciences with the goal of extracting real sugar from various plants growing on the continent. In his scientific work, Marggraf encouraged his compatriots to start growing sugar beets and producing sugar. In 1786, Marggraf's student, Frederic Ashard, built the first experimental factory, the results of which were so satisfactory that in the following years factories were built in Silysia and Bohemia. The fame of Ashard's works is enormous. In France, two small sugar factories were built in the Paris region, in Chelles and Saint-Coin. However, the results they achieved were very mediocre, since the sugar they produced was of lower quality than cane sugar and at a high cost.

Cane sugar from here began to successfully conquer Europe, reaching Rus' around the 12th century.

The Russian word “sugar” goes back to the Sanskrit words “sarkara” and “sakkara”. These names refer to condensed juice, unrefined sugar crystals that have become a traded item. The basis of this name for sugar has entered many languages ​​of the world.

However, only in the 16th century did it first appear on the royal table as an “overseas commodity” in connection with the development of maritime trade through Arkhangelsk...

What kind of sugar is there?

The entire range of sugar can be divided into groups depending on its appearance. It is white crystalline, unrefined (brown), and liquid sugar. There are various types of sugar produced specifically for the needs of the food industry, many of which are not intended for sale in stores directly to the public.

Crystal sugar

Crystalline sugar is the type of sugar most familiar to consumers around the world. It is granulated sugar consisting of white crystals. Depending on the crystal size, granulated sugar provides the unique properties of granulated sugar. These properties are in demand among food companies according to their specific needs. In addition to the size of the crystals, special additives add variety to the types of sugar.

Regular Sugar. Sugar commonly used in household use. This is exactly the white sugar that most cookbook recipes refer to. This same sugar is most widely used by food industries.

Fruit Sugar. Finer and higher quality than regular sugar. Used in dry mixes such as gelatin desserts, pudding mixes and dry drinks. The high degree of crystal uniformity prevents smaller crystals from separating or settling to the bottom of the package, an important quality of good dry mixes.

Pekarsky (Bakers Special). The crystal size is even smaller. As the name already implies, this type of sugar was created specifically for industrial baking.

Ultrafine (Superfine, Ultrafine, Bar Sugar, Caster Sugar). Smallest crystal size. This sugar is ideal for pies and meringues with a very fine texture. Due to its easy solubility, ultrafine sugar is also used to sweeten fruits and frozen drinks.

Confectionery powder (Confectioners Sugar, Icing Sugar). Confectionery powder is based on regular granulated sugar, ground into powder and sifted through a fine sieve. Approximately 3% cornstarch is added to prevent sticking. The powder is available in varying degrees of grinding. Used for glazing, in confectionery production and in the production of whipped cream.

Coarse Sugar. Sugar with crystal size larger than regular sugar. A special processing method makes this sugar resistant to changes at high temperatures. This property is important in the production of fondants, confectionery and liqueurs.

Sanding Sugar. Sugar with the largest crystals. It is used mainly in the baking and confectionery industries for sprinkling products. The edges of the large crystals reflect light, giving the product a sparkling appearance.

Unrefined (brown) sugar

Brown sugar consists of sugar crystals coated in molasses syrup with a natural flavor and color. It is produced either by special boiling of sugar syrup, or by mixing white sugar with molasses.

There are many varieties of unrefined sugar, which differ mainly in the amount of molasses (molasses) they contain. Dark brown sugar has a more intense color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar.

Light brown sugar is used in the same way as white sugar. Dark unrefined sugar has a rich aroma, which makes it a specific additive to various products.

Liquid Sugar

There are several types of liquid sugar that are used in the food industry. Liquid sugar itself is a solution of white sugar and can be used wherever crystalline sugar is.

Sugar with the addition of molasses is an amber-colored liquid. Can be used to give products a specific aroma.

Finally, invert syrup. Inversion or chemical breakdown of sucrose produces a mixture of glucose and fructose. This sugar is used only for industrial purposes.

And now about the benefits and harms of this product.

One of the highest levels in the ranking of the most popular products is sugar. As a rule, many people add sugar to tea, coffee or finish their meal with some dessert. At the same time, when it comes to the benefits and harms of sugar, everyone confidently claims that this sweet pleasure has a detrimental effect on human health. People came up with unattractive names for sugar: “the main enemy of humanity,” “sweet death,” “white death.” Moreover, during war years or in difficult times of famine, people always stocked up on this sweet product.

Mother Nature has arranged it in such a way that the human body cannot cope without providing sugar. Numerous fruits, vegetables, and nuts contain organic natural sugar fructose in abundance, which is quite easily absorbed by the body. From early childhood, if a person does not receive enough carbohydrates in their natural form from healthy foods, he automatically reaches out to candies, chocolate, cakes and gradually gets used to these far from healthy sugar substitutes. As a result, many people involuntarily become overly dependent on sugar, which is also called “sugar addiction.” People who grew up eating grapes, dates, dried fruits, sweet vegetables, and honey will not be strongly drawn to sugar-containing products.

What are the benefits and harms of sugar, why do people simultaneously love and fear this sweet product? Despite the fact that sugar is the main source of energy for our body, recently the number of people suffering from diabetes has increased significantly.

Entering the body, sugar, under the influence of digestive juices, is broken down into glucose and fructose and enters the blood. Insulin produced by the pancreas normalizes blood sugar levels by distributing it throughout the body's cells. Excess sugar accumulates in the body, turning into not entirely aesthetic folds of fat on the stomach, hips and other places. After the excess sugar has been removed to the “storage”, the blood sugar level decreases and the person again feels hungry.

A constant increase in blood sugar levels can cause the pancreas to no longer cope with the production of insulin in the required amount. When there is not enough insulin, sugar fills the blood, causing diabetes. If the patient does not adhere to the diet and does not control the amount of sugar eaten, the consequences can be very severe, including diabetic coma and death.

When considering the issue of the benefits and harms of sugar, it is necessary to note that, despite the fear of the threat of diabetes, this sweet product is sometimes called the “vitamin of joy.” When brain cells are significantly deficient in glucose, moderate consumption of sugar will effectively increase performance, actively reduce fatigue and bad mood, and reduce headaches. At the same time, this sweet product is the main reason for the burning of calcium, a huge amount of which is spent on the absorption of refined sugar. As a result, acid increases in the oral cavity and pathogenic bacteria develop, which leads to dental caries. This is considered an important factor when discussing the benefits and harms of sugar.

Excessive consumption of sugar leads to an imbalance of amino acids in the diet, because when refining this sweet product, almost all the mineral salts necessary for the human body are removed. This causes metabolic disorders that contribute to obesity, serious diseases of the endocrine glands, blood, and brain. And B vitamins removed during sugar refining significantly increase the risk of mental and nervous diseases and polyneuritis.

But still, sweets are heavily promoted and advertised everywhere. Manufacturers producing sweets, chocolate, caramel, and soft drinks are extremely interested in selling them. Therefore, sugar is quite closely connected with the financial interests of many countries around the world. If you are unable to fight your own weakness, then replace your usual sugar with bee honey or marmalade, which will bring tangible benefits to your body. Better yet, lean on fruits and dried fruits, because fructose is much healthier, speaking about the benefits and harms of sugar. Try to lead an active lifestyle, find other sources of pleasure, then you will become less craving for sweets.

So how much is it? Sahara Do you need to eat to avoid getting fat? Scientists around the world have been trying to answer this question for many, many years. And only in April 2003, the most authoritative World Health Organization issued its verdict. According to pundits representing the Organization, a healthy person with sugar should come no more than 10% of calories from the daily diet. If you convert the grams into pieces of refined sugar, it will be quite decent - 10-12 pieces.

But the fact is that the daily norm includes not only sugar, which we add to tea, coffee or porridge, but also the sugars contained in the rest of the food we eat. Meanwhile, a can of carbonated drink, for example, can contain about 40 g of sugar! Having drunk such a jar during the day and drinking sweet coffee with milk in the morning, we have already exceeded the quota in quantity Sahara. What if we are offered a cake at work, but it’s awkward to refuse? That's it.

Tireless Americans have calculated that the average US citizen receives about 190 grams of sugar per day from food. This is 3 times the permissible limit. As for the average Russian, according to Soyuzrossakhar, on average, only in its pure form (sand and refined sugar) eats 100 g per day. Can you imagine?

Firstly, it was discovered that sugar substitutes, although not as high in calories as simple sugar, but significantly increases appetite. Thus, the person still begins to gain weight. Secondly, you shouldn’t consume them in large quantities at all, as this can result in stomach upset.

And finally, many doctors believe that sugar substitutes are, in principle, harmful to the human body. Thus, in many countries the use of a sugar substitute, cyclomate (30 times sweeter than sugar), is prohibited because scientists fear that it may cause kidney failure. Other sweeteners have also been repeatedly accused of being harmful - some doctors, for example, believe that saccharin has carcinogenic properties. However, not a single assumption has yet been proven.

Is it true that sugar is less sweet now than before?

With the advent of sugar made from raw sugar on the Russian food market, there began to be an opinion among buyers that sugar from raw cane is less sweet than sugar from beets. This opinion is erroneous and completely unfounded.

Commercial granulated sugar produced at sugar factories from raw cane and sugar beets meets the requirements of one State standard. Both are products with the same content (at least 99.75%) of the same chemical compound - sucrose.

The same chemical compound has very specific physicochemical properties, regardless of its origin. Therefore, solutions of cane and beet sugar are equal in concentration, i.e. solutions of equal concentrations of sucrose cannot have different properties, in particular, different sweetness. So the sweetness of tea does not depend on the type of raw material from which the sugar is made, but on the number of spoons of sugar that you put in it.

Although there is also this opinion:

Sugar is the common name for sucrose, which is a water-soluble carbohydrate - valuable nutrients that provide the body with the necessary energy. Sucrose for the product called “sugar” is isolated from the juice of sugar beets and sugar cane. Is beet sugar different from cane sugar? If we are talking about the white sugar we are used to and not brown sugar, then no. As a result of technological operations, the final product loses any taste differences.

In addition to sucrose, natural sugars also include fructose (found in fruits and honey), maltose (found in sprouted grains, also called malt sugar), glucose (often called grape sugar, but found in honey, fruits and vegetables) and lactose ( milk sugar).

As a rule, there are two main types of sugar on sale: regular and refined. We are used to calling cubed sugar refined sugar, but granulated sugar can also be refined. Refined sugar is a designation for a product of the highest purity, superior in quality to regular sugar. In Russia there are now two regulatory documents regulating product quality requirements: GOST 21-94 for granulated sugar and GOST 22-94 for refined sugar.

The distinctive features of the product called “granulated sugar” are the increased content of impurities: coloring, mineral and other substances. Impurities cause the color of the sand and a lower degree of sweetness compared to refined sugar. A type of granulated sugar is powdered sugar, these are crushed granulated sugar crystals no larger than 0.2 mm in size.

Refined sugar, unlike sand, contains fewer impurities that are removed during refining. It is sweeter, although, to be honest, this difference is not dramatic. But the color of refined sugar differs from the color of granulated sugar - it is pure white, without foreign impurities, a bluish tint is allowed.

sources

http://www.kristall-centr.irnd.ru

http://dobrakhata.ua

http://www.ja-zdorov.ru

http://polzavred.ru

http://sladov.ua

http://www.zooeco.com

I would also advise you to find out and The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

It is unimaginable to imagine modern life without sugar. It is added to almost all dishes, from desserts to salted fish. There are a lot of theories and opinions regarding this product: some associate sugar with the sweet life, others call it “white death”. So how should we treat him? What dose is considered normal? What is the harm and what is the benefit?

The history of sugar

Today it is impossible to say unequivocally which region is the birthplace of sugar. Some researchers give the palm to Assyria and Babylon, others attribute these merits to India. Many scientists consider 510 BC to be the birth year of the history of sugar, when the soldiers of Emperor Darius of Persia found thickets of sugar cane on the banks of the rivers of India and called it honey, which exists without bees.

However, it was from India that sugar came to the Egyptians, who tried to use sugar cane for medicinal purposes and as food for slaves.

Sugar was brought from Egypt to the Roman Empire, from where it then spread throughout Europe.

Sugar was originally obtained by collecting the juice of sugar cane, which was then boiled to produce sugar in the form of crystals.

For the first time in the second half of the 18th century, sugar beets began to be used to produce sugar.

Political actions had a strong influence on this method of obtaining sugar, when in 1805, during military operations, Europe was cut off from the possibility of importing sugar cane. As a result, in 1811 Napoleon announced that from now on the raw materials for sugar production would change to sugar beets.

Refined sugar first appeared in the Czech Republic, when one of the owners of a sugar factory, experimenting with this product, created sugar in the form of squares.

Sugar in Rus'

Sugar appeared in Rus' more than 1000 years ago. Only very rich people could afford to buy it. Peter the Great took on the construction of a sugar production plant in Russia. However, raw materials had to be imported from abroad, and in terms of cost, sugar remained a long-term product.

Only 2000 years ago in Russia they began to produce sugar from sugar beets, thanks to which it was possible to reduce its cost several times and make it generally available.

Only in the 20th century did sugar become a product of general consumption, appeared in every family, in every home, and is added to almost every culinary product.

Scientists have identified more than several hundred different types of sugar. Every green plant contains substances that make it possible to obtain sugar. It is formed from glucose during photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and water under the influence of solar energy.

Sugar is considered the most popular:

• From cane (sugar cane)
• From palm juice (base – coconut juice, date juice)
• From sugar beets
• Maple sugar is obtained from the sap of sugar and silver maples.
• Sorghum sugar is extracted from sorghum

What is refined and unrefined sugar?

Each of the above varieties can be unrefined (brown in color) and refined (this is what white sugar looks like).

Refining is a procedure for separating sucrose crystals from impurities - molasses, vitamins, mineral salts.

Refined sugar comes in different degrees of refinement. Initially, all sugar was unrefined.

It is believed that brown unrefined sugar is considered the healthiest. It is less sweet in taste and, for various reasons, more expensive than refined white.

Calorie content of sugar and its composition

It is a known fact that the calorie content of sugar is extremely high. 100 grams of granulated sugar contains 398 kilocalories. To summarize, the kilocalorie content in all types of sugar is equal to 400.

Important!!!

One teaspoon of sugar contains approximately 32 kilocalories.

One tablespoon of sugar contains approximately 100 kilocalories.

The composition of 100 grams of sugar contains 99.8 grams of carbohydrates in the form of sucrose, while fats and proteins are completely absent.

It also contains 0.1 grams of water and ash.

If we talk about useful substances, for example, vitamins, they are completely absent from sugar.

Of the micro and macroelements, sugar contains potassium, calcium, sodium, and iron in small doses.

Daily sugar intake

How much sugar should you consume per day?

Traditionally, the normal daily intake of sugar is 50 grams, which is equivalent to 10 teaspoons.

However, scientists are reducing this norm every year. The fact is that our body does not need sugar at all. On average, a person drinks 2-3 cups of tea or coffee per day, which in theory does not exceed the daily norm.

It is important to understand that sugar is found in almost all food products that are produced by humans. In addition, most even natural products contain sugar, for example, fructose in fruits, lactose in milk, glucose in honey, maltose in beer and bread.

Advice

In the best case scenario, sugar can be completely eliminated from the diet, since it is just carbohydrates without vitamins and minerals.

However, with modern diet and lifestyle, this is extremely difficult to do.

Doctors advise reducing the addition of sugar to the maximum in tea, coffee, pancakes, cottage cheese, etc.

Negative effects of sugar

With daily consumption of sugar, of course, you should not be surprised at the negative consequences.

• Sugar contains a large number of calories and does not provide any beneficial nutrients for the body, which is why sugar is called “empty carbohydrates.” Among other things, it really affects the formation of caries on teeth.
• Sugar can cause liver overload. Before sugar enters the bloodstream, it is separated into fructose and glucose. If glucose does not enter the body from the outside, then it is able to produce it itself. If there is no fructose intake, then this is not at all scary for the body. It doesn't need fructose at all. If the liver contains excessive amounts of fructose, the body converts it into fat, which leads to serious negative consequences. It is also important to pay attention to a person’s lifestyle: if he leads an active lifestyle, then his liver is able to cope with more sugar than the liver of a person with a passive lifestyle. When it comes to consuming fruits, it is almost impossible to get excessive amounts of fructose through them.
• Excessive sugar consumption can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease due to the fact that some of the fructose is not processed and is deposited in the liver.
• Sugar can trigger diabetes and metabolic syndrome, as it causes insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for the passage of glucose through the bloodstream. If you eat improperly, insulin stops functioning normally, which is a catalyst for the occurrence of many cardiovascular diseases. Scientists have proven that insulin resistance largely occurs due to the consumption of sugar in large quantities.
• People who drink sugary drinks are 83 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, when the pancreas can't produce enough insulin to keep sugar levels low.
• Sugar leaches calcium from the body, making it more vulnerable
• Stress – Sugar turns out to increase stress. Its effect is reminiscent of the work of alcohol and drugs - first it relieves stress, and then a “rollback” occurs - the state becomes even more depressive.
• It disrupts metabolism in the body, which leads to atherosclerosis.
• Sugar can be addictive because it releases dopamine – the brain receives a signal of pleasure, which makes sugar highly addictive.
• Many studies have proven that those who consume a lot of sugar are more likely to gain excess weight. Sugar can influence in such a way that a person loses self-control over food consumption.
• It has been proven that it is not fat, as previously thought, but sugar that is the main cause of heart disease, since fructose negatively affects metabolism.

The benefits of sugar

Of course, completely giving up sugar won’t be entirely correct either. Sugar also has a number of positive qualities, for example:

• Sugar is used in medicine when it is necessary to improve the functioning of the spleen and liver - sugar comes to the rescue.
• Sugar in small quantities reduces the possibility of arthritis.
• Doctors have proven that sugar helps improve blood circulation in the brain and spinal cord.

How to remove excess sugar from the body

You can lower your blood sugar levels with proper nutrition.

To do this, you need to remove all sweets and high-calorie foods from your diet.

You need to eat food without carbohydrates for 6-7 days - protein foods and any vegetables are great.

For this purpose, nutritionists advise adhering to the following diet: in the morning eat only fruits, in the afternoon - a lunch containing proteins, 16.00 - a snack, you can add a bun or some cookies, 19.00 - a vegetable salad. Be sure to drink 2 liters of water daily.

It is useful to eat buckwheat, prunes, fish, onions, garlic - these are antioxidants that remove toxins from the body.

About sugar, program by Elena Malysheva

Should I use sweeteners?

Researchers are of the opinion that only people with diabetes need sweeteners.

Once an experiment was conducted when one group of rats was fed yogurt containing natural sugar, while others were fed yogurt with sweeteners. It turned out that the sweetener increased the feeling of hunger in rodents, and they began to get fat. Therefore, the same effect is observed in humans.

Conclusion:

It is best if you consume sugar, then in an amount not exceeding the daily daily dose. The unambiguous effect of sweeteners on the human body has not yet been studied, but according to modern data, the consequences of their consumption can be even worse than from sugar itself.

What to choose: fructose or sugar?

Of course, if we talk about fructose contained in fruits, then the answer is clearly in favor of fresh fruits.

If we talk about industrially produced fructose, it is worth considering that regular refined sugar consists of 50 percent fructose. Does it make sense then?

What to choose: honey or sugar?

Honey contains 70 percent sucrose, glucose and fructose and is not much different from sugar. However, it also contains a large amount of beneficial enzymes, minerals and vitamins. So, all other things being equal, preference should be given to honey.

But in this matter, it is important not to overdo it, focusing on the individual daily intake of honey. It is calculated as follows: no more than 0.8 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight.

• Until the 17th century, there was no sugar in Europe. It was replaced by sugar cane juice, which was used to wash down food
• At the beginning of its history, sugar was considered a symbol of luxury and wealth: the blacker a person’s teeth, the richer he was considered
• In 14th century England, sugar cost, in modern terms, $1 per teaspoon!
• Sugar consumption is approximately 125-135 million tons per year
• Sugar consumption in Russia is approximately 5.5-6.0 million tons per year
• Sugar beets have a sugar content of no more than 1 percent. Initially, to get 1 kilogram of sugar, you had to use 1 ton of vegetables.
• Today, 17-18 percent of sugar is obtained from sugar beets with a sugar content of 20-22 percent.
• On average, a US resident consumes about 190 grams of sugar per day, which is three times the norm.
• In Russia, an average person consumes 100 grams of sugar per day, which is 1.5 times the norm.

Sugar. Harm or benefit?

The main component of the “sweet life” is sugar. It is included in almost all sweets.

Sugar is a sweet, white substance, deposited in granules (crystals), extracted from plant juices: sugar cane, beets, etc. It consists almost entirely of sucrose, and this word is often considered the scientific name for ordinary sugar. Sucrose is found in many plants, but industrial sugar is obtained almost exclusively from sugar cane and sugar beets.

Sugar cane is a perennial plant of the cereal family, which includes such important crops for humans as wheat, corn, rice, etc. The sugar content is 10-15, and sometimes 20% of the mass of the stem. It is grown in countries with tropical climates. The cut cane must be processed within 24 hours (otherwise too much sugar is lost).

Cane sugar is the name given to sugar obtained from sugar cane. It has been known for more than one thousand years. Among the Europeans, the soldiers of Alexander the Great were the first to learn about it during the campaign against India. At that time, sugar was called “honey made without bees.” For a long time, sugar remained a precious product, used as a medicine or a rare delicacy. There is information that in the Middle Ages in Rus', the weight of silver was given for the weight of sugar.

Sugar production from sugar beets began much later than from sugar cane. This happened in Germany about 200 years ago. Sugar beets differ from table beets in the color of their pulp. In table beets it is red, and in sugar beets it is white. Sugar beets are grown in countries with temperate climates. Cane and beet sugar are almost indistinguishable in taste.

Sugar beets are crushed and sucrose is extracted from it with hot water in special diffusers. The resulting solution is treated with lime to precipitate impurities, and the excess hydrolysis of calcium that has partially passed into the solution is precipitated by passing carbon dioxide. Then, after separating the precipitate, the solution is evaporated in a vacuum apparatus, obtaining fine-crystalline raw sand. After further purification, refined (purified) sugar is obtained. Depending on the crystallization conditions, it is released in the form of small crystals or in the form of compact “sugar loaves”, which are split or sawn into pieces. Instant sugar is prepared by pressing finely ground granulated sugar.

Cane sugar is used in medicine to make powders, syrups, mixtures, etc.

Beet sugar is widely used in the food industry, cooking, making wine, beer, etc.

An intermediate product in the production of cane sugar is raw sugar. It contains 98% sucrose and is a yellow-brown large crystal obtained by boiling purified sugarcane juice. Raw sugar is not available for retail sale, since experts consider it not suitable for direct use in food or as an integral part of food.

Yellow sugar, in terms of purity, occupies an intermediate position between raw sugar and regular (refined) sugar. It is made by adding a small amount of molasses (black treacle) to refined sugar. Molasses is what remains from boiled sugar cane juice after the sugar crystals have been separated. It is a dark-colored syrup with a characteristic odor. In recent years, yellow sugar has become more popular because many people consider it healthier than white sugar. Among the impurities in yellow sugar, there are indeed some useful substances, but their concentrations are very small.

Where did sugar come from?

There are whole legends about the origin of sugar. Here is one of them.

When the soldiers of Alexander the Great came to India, sugar extracted from cane was already known there. Historiographers of the Macedonian army make references to an unknown white solid product with a sweet taste. This product was obtained from a special Indian cane, which “gives honey without bees.”

The name of “cane honey” in Sanskrit sounded like “sarkara” or “sakkara”. The root of this word subsequently entered all European languages. However, sugar appeared in Europe much later - during the first crusades. The first crusaders learned about honey without bees, obtained from tall reeds, when they arrived in Arab countries.

Sugar cane plantations first appeared in the European Mediterranean: in France, Portugal, Spain, on the islands of Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily. However, it was still purchased in large quantities in the East, and from there it was imported to Europe at incredibly high prices. Brazil, which at that time belonged to Portugal, and Java, a possession of the Netherlands, also produced a rich harvest of sugar cane.

After the discovery of America, sugar began to be imported from the plantations of the Caribbean islands. Since sugar was a very rare and expensive product, fierce wars were fought between countries for it.

In Rus', cane sugar has been known since the 12th century, and in the 16th century, sugar appeared on the royal table. The first sugar factory was built in St. Petersburg in 1718 by order of Peter I.

In 1741, the German chemist Andreas Markgraf, on behalf of Frederick the Great, dissatisfied with the prices of imported sugar and interruptions in its supply, conducted research on some plants for their sugar content. He discovered sugar crystals in beet roots. But industrial production of beet sugar was still a long way off. Only many years later, the Markgrave's student, Franz-Karl Arhad, managed to develop a beet variety suitable for producing sugar in the required quantities.

Since there were shortages in Indian cane sugar during the Napoleonic Wars, at the end of the 13th century factories began to open in Europe where sugar was produced from processed beets. Another century later, at the end of the 19th century, sugar became a public pleasure. White beet sugar has almost replaced brown cane sugar.

Now most countries use beet sugar, and only in Cuba, Brazil, certain provinces of India and some other countries sugar is still extracted from cane. Nutritionists consider it a much healthier sweet than refined sugar.

Positive and negative properties of sugar

What are the main functions of sugar in food? Firstly, it gives food a sweet taste, and secondly, nutritional value (calorie content). But it also has other functions that are not so well known. The presence of sugar in drinks gives them not only sweetness, but also fullness of taste. When replacing sugar with an intense sweetener, the drink ends up with what is called an “empty”, watery taste. And we have to introduce additional components to compensate for this deficiency.

A very high sugar concentration prevents the development of microorganisms, i.e. Sugar acts as a preservative.

Sugar often takes part in creating a certain structure of a product. For example, marmalade cannot be made without it. When making marmalade, pectin plays an important role (contained, for example, in apples). Pectin forms a dense jelly (marmalade) only in the presence of a sufficient amount of sugar.

Sugar contributes to the consistency of baked goods. Yeast requires sugar for the fermentation process that raises bread dough. In unsweetened products - salad dressings, sauces, seasonings, mayonnaise - sugar improves flavor and balances the natural acidity of products containing tomato or vinegar.

Granulated sugar can be stored in airtight packaging in a cool and dry place for as long as desired. Being almost a pure carbohydrate, sugar contains very little moisture. And bacteria and other microorganisms cannot grow in anhydrous conditions. Therefore, sugar does not sour or mold.

Sugar also has an unpleasant property - it can contribute to certain types of food spoilage, since it is nutritious for many microorganisms. Therefore, a drink sweetened with sugar can ferment and sour.

Is sugar harmful? It was once used as a medicine. Today they believe that it is to blame for excess weight, which leads to various diseases: food allergies are a fairly common phenomenon among children in the first years of life. However, it occurs much more often in children whose diet contains a high content of sugars. Either the diet of these kids is “hypercaloric” - one of the main conditions for the occurrence of food allergies; or the role of allergens is played by the products themselves, which contain a significant percentage of sugar.

Another danger that is fraught with (excessive sugar consumption) is the possibility of developing a disease called diabetes mellitus (“sugar” disease). It is believed to be caused by a lack or insufficient activity of insulin (a pancreatic hormone), which is supposed to remove sugar from the blood and provide it to the muscles and various organs. In diabetes mellitus, sugar (glucose) that enters the body with food accumulates in the blood and does not reach the necessary tissues. However, excess sugar consumption is only one of the reasons leading to the development of diabetes in people. Hereditary predisposition, environmental conditions and the transmission of infectious diseases are also important. And yet, do not delude yourself: among people with a sweet tooth, diabetes mellitus is immeasurably more common.

In our minds, a person with a sweet tooth is usually represented as a fat person. Everyone knows that excess carbohydrate consumption often leads to obesity.

Sugar is one of the most important factors leading to the process of tooth decay, since it promotes the proliferation of bacteria that cause caries.

Sugar accelerates aging. How does sugar turn into subcutaneous fat in our body? In the digestive system, sugar breaks down into glucose, which is absorbed into the blood. Some of the glucose accumulates in the liver, and its excess, after a series of biochemical reactions, turns into real fat. And the higher the blood sugar, the more fat is synthesized, the higher the risk of developing obesity, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis. Sugar can also cause serious harm to our teeth. And that's not it.

Under the influence of sugar (glucose), many important molecules can stick together (protein glycosylation). After this, they are no longer able to fully perform their functions, which leads to disruption of many body functions and aging.

A few tens of grams of sugar per day will not only not harm the average person, but will also be beneficial. Only for certain diseases should the amount of sugar in food be limited.

Section 1. Sugar production and technology.

Sugar — This common name for sucrose. Cane and beet sugar(sugar, refined sugar) is an important food product. Regular sugar (sucrose) refers to carbohydrates, which are considered valuable nutrients that provide the body with the necessary energy. Starch also belongs to carbohydrates, but its absorption by the body occurs relatively slowly. Sucrose is quickly broken down in the digestive tract into glucose and fructose, which then enter the bloodstream.

Sugar production and technology

Glucose provides more than half of the body's energy costs. Normal blood glucose concentration is maintained at 80-120 milligrams of sugar per 100 milliliters (0.08~0.12%). Glucose has the ability to maintain the barrier function of the liver against toxic substances due to its participation in the formation of so-called paired sulfuric and glucuronic acids in the liver. That is why taking sugar orally or injecting glucose into a vein is recommended for some liver diseases and poisoning.

History of sugar

Granulated sugar is packaged in bags weighing 900 g, 1 kg, bags 2.5; 5; 10; 50 kg

The chemical formula of sugar is C12H22O11.

Raw sugar is a product processed from cane or beets in the form of individual crystals, consisting mainly of sucrose of less high purity than granulated sugar, and not intended for direct consumption. Sucrose content is from 95 to 99.55%, color: from yellowish to yellow-brown, the crystal is dull, covered with a molasses film.

But before you panic, it’s worth figuring out what is known about sugar, and whether this product is actually so harmful that it needs to be completely excluded from your diet.

Is it true that sugar is bad for your health?

Based on the imaginary harmfulness of sugar, it turns out that you need to completely stop using it. In particular, nutritionists are alarmed by the so-called hidden form of sugar, which is hidden in prepared foods. In fact, a person has to consume sugar that is invisible to the eye, therefore, there is much more of it in the diet than the body needs.

When a person often has to drink carbonated sweet water, eat a lot of sweets, while ignoring healthy foods, it is not surprising that in a few years he will be overcome by problems of the gastrointestinal tract and, probably, extra pounds. So, we can confidently say that if you eat right, don’t overeat, your main diet consists of healthy foods, then sometimes you need to treat yourself to a sweet dessert, it improves your mood.

Is it true that the body gets most of its sugar from sweets and other sweets?

Some people believe that the main source of sugar is sweets and avoid eating them. In fact, sugar enters the body not only from sweets, but also from all kinds of drinks and sauces. For example, one tablespoon of tomato sauce contains a teaspoon of sugar.

Is it true that the sugar found in sweets is significantly different from the sugar found in fruits?

In fact, all sweet fruits contain sugar similar in composition to that found in sweets. Another thing is that its concentration in fruits and berries is lower. When entering the body, it is able to bring with it useful vitamins, minerals and minerals. Meanwhile, the body burns sugar that has to be obtained from buns and sweets more slowly. Because of this, your blood sugar levels become higher, as does your blood pressure.

Is it true that eating sugar causes diabetes?

There is no doubt that diabetes and sugar are linked. But the most common type of diabetes is type 2, which is usually caused by overeating any foods, including those containing sugar. The disease develops according to this pattern: a large amount of food that the body consumes requires the release of large amounts of glucose, and, consequently, insulin.

The disease does not appear overnight; it is a long process. Over time, cells are unable to absorb excess insulin, causing blood sugar levels to rise sharply. This is how diabetes is formed. And although diabetes is called diabetes, sugar consumption is not the main cause of the disease.

Sugar has both its pros and cons.

Sugar is a highly purified, easily digestible carbohydrate, especially refined sugar. Sugar has no biological value other than calories. Sugar has a high energy value; it provides a lot of empty calories that would be worth getting from other foods that, in addition to calories, would also provide vitamins, minerals, etc. Sugar is harmful to teeth because bacteria contained in the human mouth turns it into acids, which destroy tooth enamel and contribute to the appearance of caries.

Sugar makes people happy. During attacks of grief, a person usually eats something sweet, after which the pancreas produces insulin, which in turn leads to the release of serotonin, the hormone of happiness. Sugar gives energy. When entering the body, sugar is converted into glucose, which provides energy.

Sugar is the main ingredient in confectionery products. Sugar is added to various drinks - tea, cocoa. Sugar serves as a preservative for various trade items made from fruits and berries - preserves, jams, jellies.

For diseases whose treatment requires a low-carbohydrate diet, various sugar substitutes are used in food.

or buy sugar at a discount on sale at Perekrestok