Sugars can come in many different forms. The building blocks of all forms of sugars are glucose, fructose* and galactose. These basic molecules are known as monosaccharides. The monosaccharides can connect together to form disaccharides. There are three disaccharides; sucrose which is one fructose* and one glucose, maltose which is two glucose units and lactose* which is glucose and galactose. The various forms of sugar consist of different mixtures of both monosaccharides and disaccharides. As different looking as the various forms of sugars can be, they are all made form the same basic building blocks.
We are all probably most familiar with white granulated sugar. This type of sugar is often referred to as table sugar or white sugar. White sugar comes from cane or beet sugar which refined and processed until the desired white granulated form is reached. Granulated sugar is made up of the disaccharide sucrose. It is available in many different sizes of granulation, from super fine to coarse.
Molasses is a by-product of the processing of white granulated sugar. The actual sugar content varies depending on the type of molasses but it can range up to 70%. Blackstrap molasses has the least amount of sugar and the highest concentration of minerals. The sugar in molasses consists of free glucose and fructose* monosaccharides but the majority of molasses is sucrose.
Brown sugar comes to us via two ways. One way to make brown sugar is to boil refinery syrup down to a point where brown sugar crystals form. The other way, which is most commonly done in the United States, is to take white granulated sugar and blend it with a sugar syrup such as molasses or refinery syrup. Thus, brown sugar consists of the same components as white granulated sugar and molasses.
High fructose corn syrup is a liquid form of sugar. It consists of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose*. The process begins with cornstarch which is made into syrup. The starch is converted into a high glucose mixture but it is then put through enzymatic reactions which increase the amount of fructose*. The end result is syrup that usually consists of 42-55% fructose*. High fructose* corn* syrup provides a convenient and easy way for the food industry to add sweetness to products.
Flower nectar provides us with Honey. The nectar is modified by the honeybee into a substance that is roughly 80% sugar. Honey also contains small amounts of minerals, vitamins* and enzymes. The make-up of the sugar portion of honey is mostly fructose*, followed closely by glucose. Maltose, which is two units of glucose bonded together, makes up about 7% and the rest of the sugar portion of honey is made up of sucrose.
Dextrose which is often seen on ingredient statements is also a form of sugar. Like high fructose* corn* syrup, it is made from the breakdown of starch into monosaccharides. Starch is a long molecule that consists of many glucose units strung together. Unlike high fructose* corn* syrup, the glucose is not enzymatically converted to fructose*. So dextrose* is simply glucose.
When looking at a food’s ingredient statement you may notice several sugars listed. The reason that most product developers use numerous types of sugars is to give a desired taste and texture to their products. For example, molasses may be used at a fairly low level in bread to give it a darker appearance; brown sugar or honey may also be used for their unique tastes and moisture holding capacities. So, sugar may appear very high up on the ingredient statement if only one type of sugar is used; or, it will be lower down in the statement through the use of 3 or 4 sugars. The sugar content of the two products may be exactly the same. The best way to really tell how much sugar is in a product is to look at the nutrition panel for the amount of sugar grams per serving.
