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Sugar is a valuable commodity that mainly comes from sugarcane or sugar beets. According to a study, about 80% of organic sugars sold worldwide come from organic sugarcane.
Organic sugar that comes from sugarcanes goes through a number of steps to assume the fine crystal shape that we are familiar with. This blog looks into these steps in detail.
So, keep on reading till the end to learn about the different processes that are involved in fine sugar crystal production from sugarcane crops that grow in farms worldwide.
What is Organic Cane Sugar?
Step-By-Step Production of Organic Cane Sugar: From Farm to the Fine Crystals
Organic cane sugar refers to a specific type of sugar that comes exclusively from sugarcane crops that producers grow in accordance with certified organic standards. What this essentially means is that the production of these sugarcanes doesn’t involve the following elements at any stage of the cultivation or processing.
Synthetic pesticides
Chemical fertilizers
Sewage sludge
Genetically modified organisms
Organic cane sugar undergoes a gentle processing in comparison with white sugar or ICUMSA 45 sugar. This leads to the slightly golden color and a rich molasses-like flavor of this sugar.
The production of organic cane sugar differs from that of regular sugar, and that is what results in its characteristic flavor, hue, and countless culinary uses.
The following is a comprehensive look into the processes that are involved in the production of raw organic sugar.
A farm is where this process begins. Sugarcane growers use organic farming practices like the use of compost or natural fertilizers to nourish the soil. They also follow crop rotation or cover crops to prevent nutrient depletion for the sugarcanes. Finally they also rely on biological pest control or natural repellents to protect the crops.
Farmers plant healthy sugarcane setts in rows and make sure they get ample water and sunlight.
The crop then grows fully in 9 to 18 months. During this time, the growers constantly pay attention to pest elimination or nutrient deficiencies to maximize the yields.
In 12 to 18 months, the sugarcane reaches peak sugar concentrations and this is when farmers harvest the crops manually or mechanically. Most farmers use mechanical harvesting as it removes the stalks and minimizes the inclusion of extraneous materials in the final yield.
After harvesting, there is very little time before the natural sugars in the cane start to degrade. This means you have to quickly arrange for efficient transportation means to deliver the sugarcanes to sugar mills.
At the mill the manufacturers wash the sugarcanes to get rid of plant debris or dirt. These sugarcanes are then crushed with presses or rollers to extract maximum cane juice, which contains a combination of sucrose, water, plant fibers, and natural impurities such as waxes or proteins.
The leftover fibrous material or bagasse is repurposed as a biofuel in industrial units.
The next step is filtration or clarification of the cane juice to remove natural impurities. In this process, manufacturers heat the juice to around 100°C or 212°F. They also add some clarifying agents, like lime, to adjust the pH of the solution. This process leads to the flocculation or settling of the impurities.
Once the impurities separate out, sophisticated filtration equipment is used to capture fine particles. This gives you contamination-free cane juice for your next phase of production.
In this step, the can juice undergoes heating in huge evaporators to remove extra water. These evaporators use specific vacuum and steam conditions to boil away the water from the cane juice.
This creates a thick and rich syrupy substance which contains about 65% of solids due to the concentration of natural sugars.
This step involves careful temperature control to eliminate the risks of burning or caramelization.
As the syrup thickens, it triggers the formation of small crystals. The crystallization process can be manipulated to control both the size and quality of the sugar crystals.
After crystallization, centrifuges spin the mixture, which separates the crystals from the molasses. Some concentration of molasses still remains in the crystals, which gives the organic cane sugar its characteristic light golden color and mild caramel-like taste.
The separate sugar crystals then undergo drying in warm air, which reduces the moisture content even further. These crystals are then screened and graded to ensure uniformity in crystal size and quality.
Then, organic cane sugar suppliers package the sugar in certified organic facilities to make sure there is no cross-contamination.
The production of organic sugar from sugarcane crops is a process that involves so many intricate steps. Every process from crop production to harvesting to processing must reflect a commitment to both quality and sustainability if you are to build credibility.
Every major cane sugar producer has to spend considerable resources to make sure they carefully process the sugarcane crops in a way that doesn’t harm the soil or the planet in general.
So, learn more about the latest and sustainable organic cane sugar production practices to appreciate the intensive labor that goes into the creation of these fine crystals that we enjoy on a daily basis.
Visit us at BA Barry Group today to order our premium quality organic and refined cane sugar in bulk for all commercial and personal culinary applications.
This sugar comes from the sugarcane crops that grow without the use of synthetic pesticides. The production of this sugar also involves fewer steps and that results in the retention of molasses along with additional nutrients.
The sugar that we normally use comes from sugarcanes. However, we can also get it from beets and high fructose corn syrup.
The processing of this sugar does not involve bone char. This makes it a suitable option for vegans.
This sugar possesses warm sweetness with molasses notes that add more depth to every baking recipe.
The production of organic cane sugar involves the following steps.
Sugarcane crop harvesting
Crushing
Juice extraction
Filtration
Evaporation
Concentration
Crystallization
Drying and Packaging
