category: food/groceries: sugar

cane sugar, de.: Rohrzucker

Cane sugar is produced from sugarcane, a plant similar to reed. It is cultivated in tropical areas. Its stalks contain up to 20 % of sugar.

Sugar production from sugarcane

To obtain the treasured raw material for cane sugar, sugarcane is pressed in mills. The sugary juice collected, contains large amounts of impurities making it cloudy. These solids are bound with lime and carbon dioxide and then filtered out, which clears the sugar juices up. An exact amount of added sugar syrup thickens the juice and starts a fast crystallization process. The remaining syrup is separated from the crystals by centrifugation. The raw sugar obtained has a yellow to brown colour because part of the syrup still clings to it. Only through washing it with water and steam can the syrup be completely separated from the sugar crystals. Finally the raw sugar is dissolved and crystallized again. Only then a white and refined sugar is obtained.