1. Sugar
Part 2

2. More fun facts about sugar
Stabilizes whipped egg foams
Provides food for yeast
Reduces iciness and hardness in frozen desserts
Provides a source of acid for leavening
Prevents microbial growth
Adds sheen to icings
Promotes a crisp crust
Promotes spread in cookies
Provides energy for the body (carbohydrates)

3. History of Sugar Sugar Cane Tall, reedy grass
First found in the South Pacific 8,000 years ago
Migrated west to India, China, and Persia (Iran)
Countries extracted and purified sugar as crystals or syrup for the past 3,000 years
Europeans used ripened fruit or honey as sweetners
Sugar came to Europe during the Crusades in the 11th and 12th century
Considered so valuable used as medicine
Spanish explorers brought the cultivation of sugar cane into Africa and The New World making sugar more readily available throughout Europe

4. Sugar Cane cont.
Slaves were brought from Africa to the New World to work the sugar cane plantations
In the 1800’s sugar refining methods improved, prices came down making sugar more available to the middle class
Grown in more tropical or warmer climates

5. Sugar Beets White, fleshy root with a flat crown
First identified by a German Chemist Andreas Marssgraf in 1747
Refined by the French in the 1800’s
The Napoleonic Wars created a need for a domestic source for sugar
Anti-slavery movement in Europe and the Americas increased sugar beet cultivation
Sugar beets grow in climates without extensive labor (ex. Michigan)
Predominant source of sugar in Europe