THECUBAREVIEW 27 



easily soluble in about half their weight of cold, or in a small quantity of hot water. Cane 

 sugar IS about two and one-half times as sweet as grape sugar. 



At 320° F., considerably above the boiling point of water (212° F.), sugar melts into a 

 colorless liquid which rapidly takes on an amber hue. If it is then cooled quickly it hardens, 

 into a glassy mass, transparent and brittle, which is called "barley sugar." If heated to 

 higher temperature it browns, becoming less sweet and acquiring a somewhat bitter flavor. 

 This browned sugar is called caramel. Old-fashioned brown sugar owed its color and flavor, 

 at least partly, to caramel, for the process of manufacture formerly used involved evapora- 

 tion over an open fire, which caused some cf the sugar to become caramelized or half burnt, 

 since in the final stages of sugar making the mass became so thick that it could not move about 

 freely, and the laj^er next to the bottom of the kettle was raised far above the boiling point. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF OTHER KINDS OF SUGAR 



Dextrose and Levulose 



Besides cane sugar, the commonest kinds are dextrose or grape sugar, very much less 

 sweet than cane sugar, and levulose, very much sweeter than dextrose. These two sugars 

 are usually found together. Dextrose may be seen in yellowish grains in the raisin and other 

 sweet dried fruits. It exists in small quantities in many fruits, but occurs chiefly as a manu- 

 factured product, a result of the hydrolysis of starch, which means causing it to unite chemi- 

 cally with water by heating it with dilute acids or in some other way to induce hj'dration. 

 By this treatment cane sugar is split up into a mixture of dextro.se and levulose known as 

 '•'invert" sugar, which is also a commercial product. Honey is practically a natural form 

 of invert sugar in which there is usually more levulcse than dextro.se. 



More sugar is supposed to be required to sweeten acid fruits if it is added before cooking 

 than if it is added afterwards, and this is ascribed to the change of the cane sugar into invert 

 sugar under the influence of the acid and heat. Miss Jennie H. Snow( 5) found that the amount 

 of sugar inverted depends upon the length of time it is cooked and the degree of acidity, and 

 her conclusions are borne out by the results of European investigators. She found, however, 

 that loss of sweetness due to cooking sugar with acid fruit is so slight as to be of little practical 

 consequence. The effect ot heat and acids in "inverting" cane sugar, as it is termed, and also 

 in destro>'ing these sugars, has to be kept in view constantly in the manufacture of sugar. 

 By the slow methods formerly in use on the sugar plantations, the juice of the cane soured 

 before it was boiled, and the acids so formed inverted much of the cane sugar under the in- 

 fluence of heat. This hindered crystallization, as did also the caramel produced by the over- 

 heating of a portion of the juice. The hindering of undesired crystallization by inversion 

 with, the aid of a little acid is sometimes very important in sugar-making. Similarlj-, manu- 

 facturers of candy know that if they wish to prevent crj'stallization or "graining" of a con- 

 centrated solution of sugar, as in making "fondant" or soft failing, tartaric or other acid must 

 be added to invert some of the sugar. 



The change of cane sugar in solution to dextrose and levulose mentioned above may be 

 brought about even in the absence of acid, by the action of heat, or by certain ferments, such 

 as invertase, an enzym of yeast. 



MILK SUGAR 



Milk contains from 4 to 5 per cent of another important sugar — milk sugar or lactose. 

 When separated and purified it is a crystalline product and is sold in that form. It is said 

 to be the most readily digestible sugar and is often found in prepared foods, especially those 

 made for invalids and children. It is much less sweet than cane sugar. 



HONEY 



Before sugar was a common commercial product, honey, stored by the honeybee, was 

 very generally used to sweeten foods. Although its use for this purpo.se is much less common 

 since cane sugar has become so plentiful and cheap, honey is still highly prized as a wholesome 

 sweet food and is used either alone or with other foods in a great many ways. It consists 

 of a natural mixture of dextrose and levulose (about 37 per cent of each) and may contain as 

 high as 6 to 8 per cent of .sucrose. An average analj'sis shows 74.41 per cent of reducing sugar- 



6 Jour. Horn. Econ., 1 (1909), No. 3, pp. 261-266. 



