Most sugar comes from sugar cane.
Refining sugar is an industrial process performed in a refinery after the raw sugar has been shipped there from a sugar mill. Roughly three-quarters of the world's sugar comes from sugar cane, with the rest coming from sugar beets. Sugar cane is grown in subtropical climates, while sugar beets thrive in cooler regions. After the vegetation is harvested, it is pulverized and the juice is extracted. The juice is boiled to create raw sugar crystals. The crystals undergo a four-step refining process to remove color and impurities. It is not a process you would undertake at home, but this is how it is done. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Mix the raw sugar with affination syrup, which is a warm, concentrated syrup that helps remove the molasses coating from the sugar crystals.
2. Place the mixture in a centrifuge to separate the sugar from the syrup and any other impurities. The result will be two liquids: a sugar liquor and molasses.
3. Combine the sugar liquor with a solution of calcium hydroxide and carbon dioxide in a process called carbonation. Any non-sugar substances that are in the sugar will attach themselves to the chalky substance and solidify in small chunks. These chunks are filtered out, and the sugar loses more color, along with any gum or amino acid impurities.
4. Add granules of powder activated carbon to the sugar liquor and heat the mixture to remove any remaining color. Then, filter the mixture and discard any carbon residue.
5. Pour the refined sugar liquor into a crystallization machine, which boils off the water. As the water evaporates, sugar crystals form.
6. Place the sugar crystals in a centrifuge to separate any last bits of liquid.
7. Dry the sugar completely with hot air before packaging.
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