Sugars of Many Kinds

4 different sugars pictured, white refined,
unrefined, unprocessed cane and brown.

       Bees were, no doubt, the first collectors of sugar. They gathered nectar from flowers and made it into honey long before any people knew of sugar.

       All plants have some sugar in them. With the aid of sunshine the plant manufactures this food, sugar, in its green leaves from water, certain elements, and air. Sugar dissolves easily in the watery plant juices and is carried into all parts of the plant for nourishment. Many plants produce more sugar than they need for their own nourishment, and this surplus is the primary food of all living organisms, including people.

       This extra supply of sugar in plants may not remain as sugar. It is often carried to the roots of the plants where it is changed into starch and stored away for future use (example, potato). It may also be changed into lats and oils, as in nuts, and it is the basis for the formation of proteins (example, beans). So again it is proved that sugar is the most important food. Without it no other foods could be manufactured in plants and without it no animals, plants, or people could exist.

       There are several kinds of sugar, some sweeter than others. Grape sugar (dextrose or glucose) is not very sweet; it is especially valuable to people with diabetes. Fruit sugar (fructose) is probably the sweetest of sugars. Cane sugar (sucrose) is the commonest sugar for household use; it is found in sugar cane, sugar beets, sorghum, and sugar maple. All fruits contain at least two of these sugars and some contain all in varying amounts. Fruits especially rich in sugar are apples, pineapples, strawberries, watermelons, grapes, raisins, dates, prunes, and figs.

       For a long time man was probably satisfied to rob the combs of the honey bees for sugar. Then he learned to obtain it by squeezing out the sweet juices of certain plants and boiling them down into sugar. No one knows whether this first happened in India or China or how long ago it was. Sugar is a Persian word that comes from the Sanskrit word shahara or sarkara meaning small grains. Theophrastus later spoke of it as honey which is from bamboo. Sugar was not used as food then. People regarded it as a sort of curiosity and presented it to royalty.

       We know today that sugar is a necessity. The two most important plants from which we get our supply are the sugar cane and sugar beet.

       There are other sources of sugar more or less limited to the small regions where the plants grow. Take for instance the palm sugar made especially from the nipa and wild date palms. For years natives in certain tropical lands have made sugar from the sap of wild date palms and the sap of the unopened flower buds of the nipa palms. Maple sugar is an American product and was first made by the North American Indians long before the time of the white people. Our first colonists learned to make this sugar from the sap of the sugar-maple tree and it soon became an important staple food. White sugar was then a luxury bought in Boston at seventy-five cents a pound. It came in large white cones and was used only on special occasions. Today white sugar is common and maple sugar a luxury. Miriam Wood

Back To The Index

• Where in the United States Does Real Sugar Come From?
• 5 natural sweetners that are good for your health
• Sugar: Master of Disguise: Health for kids by PBS
• Is sugar bad for you? by PeekabooKidz