Sugar versus sweeteners

This process sheet explains the radical opposition between the two options of "sugar", a commonly used term, but more precisely "sucrose", and a family of compounds, sweeteners, which are supposed to replace it.

In the first case, sucrose is extracted from two very different plants, sugar beet and sugar cane, both of which have the common characteristic of containing this crystallizable sugar, making it easy to extract from the parent plant. Originally from Central Europe, sugar beet thrives in temperate climates, with both wet and dry periods prior to harvest. It was discovered at the end of the 17th century by a German chemist (A.G. Marggraf), for its high sucrose content in the roots of the plant. It is currently grown in northern and eastern France. Sugar cane began to be cultivated in the 16th century, and from then on, the real boom in the brandy produced can be attributed to the European settlers who arrived in the Caribbean. Sugar cane is mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions such as Central and South America, East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and most often near oceans or warm seas.

In the second case, sweeteners are natural or synthetic substances designed to replace sugar, on the pretext of reducing the added sugar content and the associated kilojoules, while maintaining a sweet taste.