White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of

beet sugar A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together w ...

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and ref ...

, which has undergone a refining process.

Description

The refining process completely removes the

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods. ...

to give the white sugar, sucrose. It has a purity higher than 99.7%. Its molecular formula is . White sugars produced from sugar cane and sugar beet are chemically indistinguishable: it is possible, however, to identify its origin through a

carbon-13 Carbon-13 (13C) is a natural, stable isotope of carbon with a nucleus containing six protons and seven neutrons. As one of the environmental isotopes, it makes up about 1.1% of all natural carbon on Earth. Detection by mass spectrometry A mass ...

analysis. White sugar (and some brown sugar) produced from sugar cane may be refined using

bone char Bone char ( lat, carbo animalis) is a porous, black, granular material produced by charring animal bones. Its composition varies depending on how it is made; however, it consists mainly of tricalcium phosphate (or hydroxyapatite) 57–80%, calc ...

by a few sugar cane refiners. For this reason white sugar from sugar cane may not be

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. Beet sugar has never been processed with bone char and is vegan. From a chemical and nutritional point of view, white sugar does not contain—in comparison to

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

—some minerals (such as calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium) present in small quantities in molasses. The only detectable differences are, therefore, the white color and the less intense flavor.

References

Related items

Brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

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