how to process white sugar beets

Do you have a sweet tooth? You can gratefully thank sugar processors for that. Refined white sugar is used in a wide variety of foods and fermentation processes to add a sweet flavor to practically everything you eat. Sugar cane, sugar beets and syrup made from corn kernels (corn syrup) are all turned into the liquid or solid sugar people love so much.

1. Pull sugar beets from the ground and cut the green tops off of the beets. The greens can be used for salads, side dishes and in a variety of main dish recipes.
2. Place the beet roots in a large water-filled container to separate the beet roots from attached soil, stones or debris. Wash thoroughly and repeat as necessary until all debris is removed.
3. Slice, grate or shred beets into cossettes, similar in consistency to thin french fries or noodles.
4. Place the cossettes in a diffuser or extractor, and cover with hot water to dissolve and remove the sugar from the beet noodles for an hour.
5. Squeeze the beet pulp using a press to remove all of the sugar liquid from the pulp. Set the beet pulp aside to be dried later and used as livestock feed or pet food.
6. Carbonate the sugar to remove impurities from the raw sugar juice. This is done by mixing the juice with lime (CaCO3) and carbon dioxide gas. Some processes add sulfur dioxide to lower the juice's pH level.
7. Filter the juice through strainers to remove the calcium carbonate solids created by the carbonation process.
8. Add activated carbon, charcoal or a decoloring ion exchanger to remove the color from the liquid.
9. Boil the remaining juice in an evaporator to boil off some of the water to the consistency of heavy syrup.
10. Strain the syrup to remove any impurities
11. Place the syrup in a crystallizer and boil the liquid under vacuum until crystals begin to form and solidify.
12. Place the crystallized syrup in a centrifugal machine to whirl and dry the sugar with heated air. As the sugar dries in the machine, the newly formed white sugar crystals will fall out of holes in the machine into a pan
13. Remove the sugar crystals from the pan and store in packages or containers. Use as desired. Any remaining syrup in the centrifugal machine is a molasses that can be used in the manufacture of yeast, citric acid and other products.

how process raw sugar

The term "sugar" applies to a wide range of carbohydrates present in many plants. You can identify plants with a high concentration of sugar in their sap by a specific sweet sugary taste. Sugar beet and sugarcane are among the most sugar-rich plants on the planet. Accordingly, sugar refineries process the raw sugar made from these plants into white sugar.

1. Mix raw sugar with the warm, concentrated sugar syrup in a three-gallon container. Raw sugar is essentially sugarcane or sugar beet mixed with lime; any excess water is evaporated through heating.
2. Use the laboratory centrifuge to spin the resulting magma (a pasty mass), separating the syrup from the impurities in the raw sugar. The syrup will filter out while the impurities will remain inside the inner tube of the centrifuge. Impurities may include fine particles of the sugarcane or sugar beet.
3. Put the chalk crystals into the sugar syrup with a spoon. As the crystals grow bigger, they will collect the nonsugars still present in the syrup. Take the crystals out. Now the remaining syrup is free from nonsugars.
4. Add granular activated carbon (GAC), an absorbent used to filter water, to the syrup with a spoon. GAC will remove the yellow-brownish color of the syrup. Take the GAC, now yellow, out. At this stage, the syrup should become white.
5. Boil the resulting syrup until the sugar crystallizes. Then spin the mixture of crystals and the remaining syrup in the laboratory centrifuges to separate the crystals. The white processed sugar that you see on the shelves in the supermarket is now ready.

how to make raw sugar from sugarcane

Raw sugar is not completely raw and uncooked. The definition of raw sugar is sugar that is unrefined and unprocessed. Raw sugar crystals are formed directly from sugar syrup and remain sticky and dark colored. It is possible to make raw sugar at home from sugar cane. This sugar making process takes several weeks to months for the sugar crystals to form.

1. Wash the sugar cane in water to remove all dirt and contaminates from the surface of the sugar cane. Strip the sugar cane of all husks and leaves. Chop the sugarcane into 6-inch pieces. Slice each sugarcane piece into four lengthwise slices
2. Place the sugarcane pieces in a large pot. Pour in enough water to cover the sugar cane pieces. Cook the sugarcane on medium heat. The water can boil, but it should boil at a low simmer, rather than a rolling boil. Heat the sugarcane until it is tender. This should take between one and two hours.
3. Strain the sugar water into a large pot through a colander. Use a potato masher to press the sugar cane against the sides of the colander to release as much of the sugary juice from inside the sugarcane as possible.
4. Cook the sugar juice inside the pot over low heat until it is nearly as thick as molasses. This can take several hours to reach this point. Stir the sugar water frequently to prevent it from burning. Allow the sugar water to cool on the stove for an hour or two until it is warm to the touch but not hot.
5. Pour the sugar syrup into a large plastic container. Place an airtight lid over the syrup to protect it from dust and bugs. Wait for crystals to form inside the syrup. This can take several weeks or even months. As crystals form, remove them from the syrup with a slotted spoon. Place them on a paper towel to allow the syrup to drip off and dry the sugar. Store the sugar in another airtight container.