various dissolved impurities. The clay cones
were left to stand inverted for a few days,
during which time the syrup film, or molasses,
would run off through a small hole in the tip.
In the final phase, a fine wet clay was packed
over the wide end of the cone, and its
moisture was allowed to percolate through the
solid block of sugar crystals for eight to ten
days. This washing, which could be repeated
several times, would remove most of the
remaining molasses, though the resulting
sugar was generally yellowish.
Modern Sugar Refining Today, sugar is
produced by somewhat different means.
Because most sugarcane has been grown in
colonies or developing countries, and sugar
refining requires expensive machinery, cane
sugar production came to be divided into two
stages: the crystallization of raw, unrefined
sugar in factories near the plantations; and
refining into white sugar in industrial