What is the difference between cooking with beet sugar and cooking with cane sugar?
There is no difference in the sugar produced from either cane or beet. Sugar cane, a giant grass, thrives in a warm, moist climate, storing sugar in its stalk. The sugar beet grows best in a temperate climate and stores sugar in its white root. Sugar from both sources is produced by nature in the same way as all green plants produce sugar – as a means of storing the sun’s energy. The same sugar (sucrose) is also found in all fruit and vegetables. They are chemically identical, each with a composition of 100% saccharose (sucrose). The sugar manufacturing processes are also nearly identical, although there are some small variations due to the differences between beets and sugar cane. Beet sugar is mainly used in Northern Europe, whereas cane sugar is used in the rest of the world. To distinguish between beet and cane sugar in Europe, 1-3% of molasses are often added to white cane sugar to give it a brownish colour. h
