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.