Healthy Bytes

The tricks and treat of sweet

read time: about 4 minutes

Happy Halloween

Back to the sucrose form of sugar…

First let’s touch on “Raw” or “Natural” sugar.
It’s tan in color and crystal in form like white sugar. This sugar form is less processed than white sugar. Most notably it does not get bleached.
The process of turning sugar cane pulp into sugar involves a number of iterations of boiling the pulp to reduce the liquid to a heavy syrup. Then using vacuum pans to grow crystals from the syrup. The natural color of the sugar is tan.
Raw sugar goes through the crystalization, but is not bleached. So it’s a better form of “table sugar”.
Blackstrap molasses comes from syrup before it is crystalized.

Sucanat (Sue-Kah-naught) is close to the natural form of sugar cane but a little tougher to find in the marketplace. It’s often sold in health stores.
The sugar cane is crushed to extract the juice (refined white sugar).
Then, using a Swiss process, the juice is dehydrated - producing granules. That’s it. No preservatives, no additives.
It’s dark tan in color and the granuales are not shiny like crystals.
Sucanat is not as sweet as sugar. It also has a “stronger” taste so you definitely want to experiment with it a bit.

Rapadura is a traditional candy in a number of Latin American countries.
It’s also dried sugar cane juice, it’s found in brick form as well as granules.

Sugar alcohols - also known as polyols. They’re actually neither sugar nor alcohol, but resemble the chemical structure of both. They are in fact carbohydrates that do not completely absorb and metabolize in the body. Thus, fewer calories - about 1/2 to 1/3 fewer. Additionally, they convert to glucose more slowly requiring little to no insulin and no spike in blood sugar.

Another difference is that sugar alcohols don’t contribute to tooth decay as bacteria in the mouth does not act on them.

The common sugar alcohols out there are:
mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH).

Mannitol - naturally found in pineapples, olives, asparagus, sweet potatoes and carrots. 50-70% the sweetness of sugar. Can cause bloating and diarrhea as it lingers in the intestines.

Sorbitol - naturally found in fruits and veggies; generally manufactured from corn syrup. 50% sweetness of sugar. Typically used in sugar-free gum.

Xylitol (zeye-la-tall) - naturally found in straw, corncobs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, mushrooms and some cereals; generally mannufactured from birch cellulose. Same sweetness as sugar. Has been shown to: inhibit plaque formation on teeth, reduce tooth decay and kill germs that cause bad breath. Typically found in chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash. Can cause bloating and diarrhea in some individuals.
Lactitol - Resembles sugar in taste and solubility with 30-40% of the sweetness. Typically found in sugar-free ice cream, chocolate, hard and soft candies, baked goods, sugar-reduced preserves and chewing gums.

Isomalt - Holds up well in heat and is typically used for hard candies, toffee, cough drops and lollipops. 45-65% as sweet as sugar.

Maltitol - Gives a creamy texture and is typically used in sugar-free hard candies, chewing gum, chocolate-flavored desserts, baked goods and ice cream. 75% the sweetness of sugar.

Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH) - Does not crstallize and is used in confections, baked goods and mouthwashes. 40-90% as sweet as sugar.

Ok, we’ll finish this sweet journey tomorrow with a sweet herb.

Maybe food product labels should scream BOO! before listing the ingredients.

This entry was posted on Tue, 31.Oct.2006 at 8:36 am and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.