What is the difference between cane sugar and white sugar? Should you be buying cane sugar rather than white sugar? Lets take a look at their differences.
Cane Sugar
Cane sugar (or raw sugar) is sucrose that's extracted from sugarcane that has not been refined.
Sugarcane is harvested by cutting it above the roots so it is considered a sustainable plant because it will regrow the next season and produce for many years. It's loaded in a transport vehicle and brought to a plant to be processed
At the plant, the sugar cane is put into a machine that twists and turns the stalks to extract the cane juice. The juice is filtered, and then boiled so the water evaporates and the crystals grow. Then the mixture is spun rapidly so the liquid separates from the sugar, then dried. Now you have raw cane sugar.
White Sugar
White sugar is (or refined sugar) undergoes high levels of chemical processing before you buy it.
Refining cleans and purifies the raw sugar. First they remove the liquid layer that builds up around the sugar crystals by mixing it with purer syrup then spun to remove the liquid from the crystals. This also removes the impurities from the sugar. But the liquid still has more particles that need to be removed by a process called carbonation. Small pieces of chalk are mixed in with the liquid, the particles are drawn to them and then removed.
The color is removed either by being burnt off by carbon or an ionic resin. Then it's boiled and spun again to remove further liquid. The result is white, refined sugar. The liquid byproduct is molasses.
Facts:
- Raw sugar is minimally processed making it a natural product and easier for your body to digest.
- Raw sugar is more healthful than refined because there are no chemical additives.
- Raw is more expensive and has a distinctive taste.
- Raw sugar supports a more sustainable industry.
- Refined is mass produced and less expensive.
- Refined is chemically processed.
The fact is, I have both! I bake with refined and use raw for beverages and some recipes. In a perfect world I would use raw for everything but my budget is tight, so I use both!
