Cane sugar

Cane sugar is sugar that comes from sugarcane, a tall grass whose stalks are rich in sucrose. All sugar begins by extracting sugar juice from either sugar cane or sugar beet plants, and cane is processed at a mill into raw sugar, which a refinery then cleans up and whitens for sale.

Cane must be processed quickly after it is harvested, because its sucrose begins to deteriorate soon after cutting. Mills crush the stalks, clarify and boil the juice, and crystallize the sugar, leaving molasses as a by-product.

In the kitchen, white cane sugar is the standard for cakes, cookies, custards and candy, while less refined cane sugars such as turbinado keep a hint of molasses and a light golden color. Chemically, refined cane and beet sugars are both sucrose.