On Apr 24, 12:41*pm, blake murphy > wrote:
> i came across these paragraphs in a recent *straight dope* discussion on
> whether beet sugar contains hydrogen cyanide:
>
> Now: what's the difference between cane sugar and beet sugar? A perfectly
> accurate answer is "not much" — table sugar is 99.95 percent or more pure
> sucrose, which is chemically the same whether it comes from cane or beets..
> However, since commercial advantage is at stake, you do get people arguing
> about the significance of the .05 percent. The C & H Sugar Company claims
> the trace minerals in cane sugar are different from those in beet sugar and
> that cane sugar is superior. The Sugar Industry Biotech Council claims
> there's no difference. C & H, no surprise, sells only cane sugar, while the
> council represents producers of both.
>
> The real question, and I realize this doesn't rate with metabolic
> asphyxiation on the fright scale, is whether cooks see any difference
> between beet and cane. Food staffers at the San Francisco Chronicle did
> some head-to-head testing in 1999 and reported that cane made significantly
> better cookies and subtly better pound cake. They also had real trouble
> getting creme brulee to caramelize properly with beet sugar, ending up with
> burnt topping instead. Always game for an experiment, particularly when it
> involves food, my assistants Una and Fierra spent a night preparing creme
> brulee: three batches with beet sugar, three with cane. Result: The beet
> and cane versions were indistinguishable in appearance, but the cane
> batches tasted sweeter, their caramelized topping especially. It was a
> Pepsi vs. Coke difference, though: while Una preferred the ones made with
> cane sugar, Fierra fancied the faintly bitter bite of the beet.
>
> — Cecil Adams
>
> ...so in the interest of food arcana, i thought it would post it here. *the
> box of store-brand sugar i have is labeled cane sugar, but i suppose in
> some areas of the country it would be beet sugar. *or is that mostly used
> by food processors?
>
> anyhow, the cyanide discussion can be found he
>
> <http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2861/does-beet-sugar-contain...>
>
> your pal,
> blake

I read somewhere that when both beet sugar and cane sugar are refined
there are a few leftover fructose molecules in the sugar (table sugar
or sucrose consists of a molecule of glucose and a molecule of
fructose). The cane sugar contains more of these extra fructose
molecules than the beet sugar does.
Some people say they can't tell a difference in the taste but I
definitely can. To me beet sugar just tastes sweet. Cane sugar
tastes sweeter and tastes like sugar should; it tastes like sugar. I
really noticed the difference when I made homemade ice cream one
time. I used the same recipe I'd always had and I knew I had measured
everything perfectly, but for some reason it just didn't taste as
sweet as it should have and the flavor wasn't right either. It was
then that I noticed that the bag of sugar I bought said, "Made with
sugar beets." The next batch was made with cane sugar and it made all
the difference in the world.