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What Type of Sugar Is Found in Sugar Cane?

Sugar cane is one of two major sources of table sugar, the other being sugar beets. Both of these plants produce a sugar called sucrose, which is the gold standard of sweeteners due to its clean taste and lack of bitterness. This sugar is easily absorbed into the human body, which makes it problematic for some people. Cane sugar, however, is preferred over beet sugar for many baking and cooking applications.

  1. Molecular Structure

    • Sucrose is a disaccharide, or two-part sugar molecule. It is made up of a molecule of fructose, the sugar most prevalent in fruit, and glucose, the simple sugar the body uses as fuel. Cane sugar is a slightly more complex carbohydrate than straight fructose or glucose, but not as complex as the starches found in grains and root vegetables, which are long chains of molecules. The sucrose molecule is made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms in a double ring formation.

    Sweetness and Glycemic Index

    • In sugar, the more complex the molecule, the less sweet the product. Cane sugar is more sweet than the complex carbohydrates found in starchy vegetables, but less sweet than simple sugars like honey and fructose. The amount of sweetness, however, does not reflect blood absorption. On the Glycemic Index, a measurement of blood absorption speed, cane sugar ranks almost in the middle of the scale between glucose, which is absorbed immediately, and fructose, which is absorbed slowly.

    Sucrose in the Body

    • Sucrose is found in many places, including most fruits and vegetables, although not in the concentrated amounts it is found in sugar cane. The sucrose found in refined cane and beet sugars behaves differently in the human body than the sucrose found in fruits and vegetables. The reason for this is that refined cane sugar is already broken into its smallest form: a sucrose molecule, and it is therefore immediately absorbed into the body, causing a "sugar spike" or rise in blood sugar. This has ill health effects for diabetics, whose sugar-processing systems are less effective. Naturally occurring sucrose is part of a whole fruit or vegetable. The fiber, complex carbohydrates and other nutrients eaten along with the fruit or vegetable slow the absorption of sucrose and ease the effects on the body.

    Sugar Cane Versus Sugar Beets

    • The sugar extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets is chemically identical: both plants yield sucrose. Many home and professional bakers, however, notice a difference when working with one type over the other. This difference is especially noticeable with brown sugars. Traditional brown sugar is sugar that does not have all the molasses -- a byproduct of the refinement process -- taken out. Beet molasses isn't something people are able to eat, so brown beet sugar is "painted" with cane sugar molasses, and the two types of sugar perform differently when baked. While less obvious to the average person, differences in mineral content and processing mean that baked goods made with cane sugar or beet sugar come out differently.

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