After reading Kashi's apple bake recipe using evaporated cane juice, I was so angry, I had to do about 5 consecutive sun salutations to manage my anger. Evaporated cane juice and plain old sugar are unequivocally the same, α-D-fructofuranosyl β-D-glucopyranoside (aka, sucrose, table sugar). After studying a while, the only difference in the processes used to isolate these substances on an industrial scale is one goes through one processing step more than the other. That's it. Same crop, same molecule. The white granulated sugar requires more energy to produce. So, it should be more expensive, tougher on resources and more expensive to produce. However, it costs less than evaporated cane juice, because people want what sounds "natural", regardless of the truth. Domino wins.
The subtle difference in composition between the two is simply the evaporated cane juice (ECJ) has a teeny bit more vitamin A, C and calcium (in a 100 grams sample). Take a vitamin. Lots cheaper.
In the industry, substances are produced according to specifications. Each batch produced is analyzed to insure compliance with the specifications. Documentation of this analysis comes in the form of a certificate of analysis (CoA). These are available to compliance agencies and geeks who really want to know weird information. I emailed DominoSugar.com today to try to get a typical CoA for granulated white and ECJ (their product name for ECJ is Demerara). They would not give up a CoA, but did give me the full nutritional specifications for each product. See below, and save your money.
| Attribute | evaporated cane juice, 100 g | granulated sugar, 100 g |
| calories, kcal | 400 | 400 |
| total lipid (fat), g | 0 | 0 |
| protein, g | 0 | 0 |
| fiber, g | 0 | 0 |
| calcium, mg | 18 | 1 |
| iron, mg | 0.0 | 0 |
| potassium, g | 0 | 2 |
| sodium, mg | 0 | 0.5 |
| vitamin C, mg | 4 | 0 |
| vitamin A, mg | 83 | 0 |
| thiamine, mg | 0 | 0 |
| riboflavin, mg | 0 | 0.019 |
| niacin, mg | 0 | 0.000 |
| price, 5 lbs., $ | 8-10 | 1-3 |
Some sugar Frankie and I recrystallized from water over a couple weeks.
13 comments:
Evaporated cane juice is not filtered through burnt animal bones. :D
Demerara is not evaporated cane juice, it is boiled sugarcane. Evaporated cane juice is juice extracted from the sugar cane plant and then crystallized through evaporation. Most refineries use animal charcoal filters. Table sugar is usually processed with phosphoric acid, formic acid, sulphur dioxide, preservatives, flocculants, surfactants (lard is frequently used as a defoamer), bleaching agents, and viscosity modifiers.
1. Filtration usually occurs through activated carbon. Carbon. Pretty much the building block of life as we know it. The source of the activated carbon may be animal bones, it may be the bones of murdered loved ones, it's indistinguishably Carbon. It's likely MANY food and drugs you've come in contact with in your life have come in contact with ... gasp ... animal bones.
2. The other processing agents if they are used - and you don't know because most commodity manufacturers don't often shoot the breeze discussing their processing technology, aren't bad:
a. Phosphoric acid - it used to be in Coke, it might still be. It's everywhere, get over it.
b. formic acid - ants just love it and if it's concentrated and you squirt it in your eyes, it might sting.
c. sulfur dioxide - it's used to purge the microflora from wine prior to fermentation
d. preservatives - too broad a category, specify
e. flocculants - too many natural and benign ones to bother
f. surfactants - you mean like a detergent to clean the reactors with? Deadly indeed.
etc.
Sure, carbon is carbon, whether it's from animal bones or the bones of murdered loved ones. But if your loved ones were being systematically murdered for food, and then their bones used to whiten your sugar...
Mmmm, animal bones! Especially yummy in soup. And sugar? Nice white sugar in cherry pie... don't forget the lard in the crust.
I'm a proud member of "People Who Systematically Murder Tasty Animals And Eat Them And Then Use Their Bones To Make Sugar" (PWSMTAAETATUTBTMS).
"The other processing agents if they are used...aren't bad."
They sure as hell aren't good. Almost any toxic ingredient when sufficently diluted can be rendered non-toxic. Long term exposure is where the damage is done. Yes, these chemicals are used in most processed foods but when they can be avoided they should. There is a significant difference between processed table sugar and evaporated cane juice. If there was not, I'm sure DominoSugar.com would have provided the CoA you requested.
"there is a significant difference between processed table sugar and [processed] evaporated cane juice"
Yup, price.
Your statements are weak. If you want to keep going, have a spine, leave your name, and use some kind of data to support anything you're blabbering about. Or, go ahead and spend the extra money for the ECJ, you're worth it.
By the way, call any food company in the world and ask for a CoA on a batch of anything, they won't give it to you. I just tried for kicks. They're not public documents, they're turned over to regulatory agencies freely but there's simply no reason to give it to the public. Food producers don't try to poison people. Ethical considerations notwithstanding, they just won't make money if they hurt people.
"I live for your participation via comments - good or bad, anonymous or not - leave a comment and make my day."
Is your day made when you can use your readers as a punching bag?
Hmmm, got me. I do enjoy the comments.
Alright then, I don't care who you are, just give some valid support for the all-chemicals-are-bad thing. Any food product/nutritional supplement/drug, etc. has passed through chemical processing - even Boca Burgers. Most of it's harmless. There really isn't any corporate conspiracy regarding the purity of food products. Most of the harm is from marketing pushing claims that few people understand.
"Almost any toxic ingredient when sufficently diluted can be rendered non-toxic."
Um, right. And non-toxic means it can't hurt you. Similarly, any non-toxic substance when taken in large enough concentrations can be rendered toxic. Ever hear of water intoxication?
Just because a substance has a chemical name doesn't mean it's dangerous. Sodium chloride is made of chlorine! A deadly poisonous gas! Well, just try living without it. Dave is a chemist. I understand why he gets frustrated by such idiocy.
"Most of the harm is from marketing pushing claims that few people understand."
Dave, on that we can agree.
Hooray. Truce.
Thanks for your original post, Dave. I've been studying evaporated cane juice because it's showing up in a lot of products in the health food store & it sure sounds like sugar to me.
I'm sensitive to sugar, as well as white flour and other highly-processed foods. So I read the labels & i'm "mad as hell" about this particular deception.
Two things stand out in the world of sweeteners:
There are lots of web sites that are obviously paid for by marketers but not identified as such. Who else would push this fiction on the public?
The supression of stevia by the FDA as an accceptable sweetener in foods is criminal. between the sugar industry and the artificial sweetener industry, there's little space left for the truth to reach the public.
Sugar is sugar is sugar and for many people it's unhealthy & leads to weight gain & mood swings. Here's a good site to visit:
http://www.mcvitamins.com/Health%20Opponents/cane-juice.htm
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