!8: Cheep Pancake Syrup: December 2011

!±8± Sugar Names and What They Mean

Sugar smells sweet and tastes sweet, but what about its name? How many sugar names are there? How many definitions? We use sugar to mean so many things and food manufacturers often use it to disguise how bad the food is that we are eating.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

This famous quote was used by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. The smell of sugar is so sweet and yet it can be so harmful to many people. Part of the reason why obesity is on the increase around the world is due to people being addicted to sweet foods such as candy and other treats.

Yet sugary foods smell so sweet as if they could do no harm. Diabetics are allergic to foods that are too sugary and in certain instances sugar can even kill them. This short article will explore some different names for sugar and the way they are used.

Brown sugar is brown in colour and is often called Demerara. It is commonly used in cakes or some people use it to flavour coffee.

Corn syrup is often used in cooking to flavour the food. Dextrose can have a laxative effect when consumed in great quantities although it is a very important carbohydrate in biology. Fructose or levulose is a simple monosaccharide often found in foods.

Galactose is less sweet than glucose and is often used as a nutritive sweetener because it has a great amount of food energy. Galactan is a polymer of galactose. Honey is a name that nearly everyone recognises, but do they know it is also a sugar? Now, there is someone very famous who loved Honey. The children's favourite bear called Pooh Bear loved Honey. Honey is often sold in a Honey Comb that is taken from the Bee Hive. It is thanks to the work of bee's that we have honey.

Treacle is very popular at Bonfire time with the children. Many children and adults love Treacle Toffee. At bonfire's they gather round with a big bag of chewy, sticky Treacle Toffee. Maple syrup is commonly found in America where they serve sticky maple syrup with freshly cooked pancakes. Some American's eat pancakes and maple syrup for their breakfast it is very tasty.

Sucrose is the type used for dieters when they are trying to cut down on sugary foods although eaten in large quantities it can have a laxative effect. Golden syrup is also sometimes used on pancakes or used in baking to flavour cakes. Golden Syrup has a delicious sweet taste like most sugars have. It can be very difficult to distinguish what is a sugar on the back of food ingredients since the majority of food manufacturers call sugar so many different names. It is worth learning what each type is called so that you can make a more informed choice next time you shop.