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Sugar and spice make everything
nice
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 [December 23, 2024]
Sugar and spice make everything nice,
especially in holiday treats. But do you know where sugar and spice
come from?
Plants make the sugar glucose during the process of photosynthesis.
Certain plants can take excess glucose, create sucrose, and then
store it in either the stalk or root. This becomes the sugar used
every day to sweeten everything from coffee to cookies. Sugar adds
sweetness, gives a tender texture, and allows browning to occur in
baked goods.
The sugar comes from two different plants: sugarcane and sugar
beets. The U.S. is one of the largest sugar producers in the world
due to its well-developed sugar cane and sugar beet industries.
Worldwide, 70% of sugar comes from sugarcane. Sugarcane is a tall
grass that grows in tropical areas. In a tropical setting like
Hawaii, it grows in fields and looks similar to corn. Florida is the
largest producer of sugarcane in the U.S.
Making Sugar
To get sugar from sugarcane, the cane is pressed to extract the
juice, then boiled and spun to produce raw sugar and syrup or
molasses. The raw sugar is then sent to a refinery where it is
washed and filtered to remove remaining non-sugar ingredients and
color. It is then crystallized, dried, and packaged into refined or
granulated sugar.
Most of the sugar used in Illinois probably comes from sugar beets.
Sugar beets are a root crop resembling a large parsnip grown mostly
in the temperate zones of the north. Beets are harvested after the
temperature drops to preserve the high sugar levels until
processing.
Beet sugar processing is similar to sugarcane, but it is done in one
continuous process without the raw sugar stage. The sugar beets are
washed, sliced, and soaked in hot water to separate the
sugar-containing juice from the beet fiber. The sugar-laden juice is
purified, filtered, concentrated, and dried.
Spicing Things Up
During the holidays, the most used spices are native to the tropics,
and many come from trees. In the Caribbean, there are plants that
produce allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
Allspice, grown on the pimento tree (Pimenta dioica) and part of the
family Myrtaceae, is native to Jamaica. The dried berries taste like
a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves with a peppery heat.
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Breaking down the processes of sugar and spices just adds to the delicious
flavors of holiday baking. Photo by Silvia via Pixabay.
Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of tropical cinnamon
trees (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). These are small trees from the
laurel family that grow about 30 feet tall and are native to
Southwest India.
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) trees are the only tropical
fruit that is the source of two different spices obtained from
different parts of the plant. Nutmeg is the seed of the tree's
fruit, and mace is the seed's veil-like covering.
Ginger is an herbaceous perennial plant with a beautiful
flower. It has a knobby, bumpy root with a peppery yet slightly
sweet flavor. The tropical spice ginger (Zingiber officinale) is
different from native ginger (Asarum canadense).
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andrews) is the only crop
from the Orchidaceae (orchid) family. The time and labor that is
invested in producing vanilla makes it one of the most expensive
spices for holiday treats.
Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) flavors many holiday
candies and goodies, such as the candy cane. The pungent
fragrance comes from the leaves that have had lots of time in
the sunlight. True peppermint is almost exclusively used in
confectionary treats. Its cooling freshness pairs well with
chocolate and is also used to balance the sweetness of sugar.
The next time you enjoy sugar and spice and everything nice,
think of the tropical plants that produce these crops.
[Terri Casey
U of I Extension]
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