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SUGAR-CANE SIRUP MANUFACTURE 69 
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF CANE SIRUP 
By H. 8. Paine, Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
COLOR AND FLAVOR 
The merits of cane sirup as a food have doubtless been appreciated 
from the beginning of the sugar-cane industry. In those sections of 
the South where it is produced, this sirup is commonly preferred to 
all other sirups and forms an important part of the dietary. Com- 
mercial differentiation in the value of cane sirup depends almost 
exclusively upon color and flavor. Although the density or “body” 
of the product is also an important element of quality, this property 
is relatively constant in comparison with flavor and color. 
The quality of flavor most desired in cane sirup is smoothness, with 
enough of the typical cane-juice flavor to give it the unmistakable 
taste of the cane. Although the production of much “‘caramel”’ 
flavor during evaporation of juice to sirup is to be avoided, a little | 
may improve the general character of cane sirup by making sweetness 
more noticeable and masking less desirable flavors. Cane sirup pos- 
sesses more flavor than may at first be apparent. While this can be 
measured only by tasting, a method based upon the detection of flavor 
at various dilutions with water shows that in the average sirup the flavor 
is from 25 to 60 per cent more persistent than sweetness. The for- 
mation of small quantities of caramel and partial neutralization of the 
acidity of the sirup tend to equalize the intensity of sweetness and flavor. 
Although flavor has always been considered in judging the quality 
of sirup, color has been widely adopted as the most practical! criterion 
of value. In those sections of the South where no chemical clarifying 
agents are used in manufacture, the lightest-color sirups usually have 
the mildest and most generally desired flavor. Moreover, for all 
practical purposes, sirup buyers and consumers know from experience 
what the ideal color of a cane sirup is, and, since comparison of flavor is 
much less definite, color is the criterion of value most readily applied. 
Unfortunately, in attempting to employ color as a general index of 
commercial value a complication arises from the fact that a jight color 
may be obtained by the use of chemical clarification. As it has not 
yet been found possible to manufacture sirup by chemical clarification 
in such a way as to obtain the same flavor as may be had when no 
chemicals are used, it is objectionable to place a premium on the color 
of sirup regardless of its flavor. For this reason and because many 
markets place a premium on flavor rather than on color alone, it is 
necessary to differentiate clearly between sirup that has been made 
by the so-called Georgia method (open boiling and skimming) and 
that made by the typical large-scale Louisiana method (using sulphur 
dioxide and lime for the clarification). It should not be inferred from 
these statements that the use of approved chemical clarifying agents 
gives an inferior product. This is a matter of individual preference, 
and in fact some consumers prefer a sirup manufactured in this way. 
COMPOSITION . 
Variations in the composition of cane juice, which depend princi- 
pally upon the variety of cane, type of soil, kind of fertilizer, and 
degree of maturity of the cane, are reflected in the composition of the 
sirup. There may be other variations in the composition of sirup, 
such as the transformation of a portion of the cane sugar into invert 
sugar during the process of evaporation of juice to sirup. In general, 
