On Food and Cooking

Impurities in White Sugar It turns out that
the tiny fraction of impurities in table sugar
can make a noticeable difference in its color
and flavor. Make a concentrated syrup from
just water and sugar and it will have a yellow,
sometimes hazy cast, thanks to large
carbohydrate and pigment molecules that
either get trapped between sucrose molecules
as they crystallize, or remain stuck to the
crystal surface. Beet sugar in particular
sometimes carries earthy, rancid off-odors.
Where sugarcane grows above the ground and
is so perishable that it is processed
immediately after harvest, the beet grows
underground and may be stored for weeks or