Sucrose

Since its discovery, Sugar has become a key ingredient in our food chain. Sugar is a soluble carbohydrate which is mostly used for consumption. Carbohydrates are made up of elements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (Queneau, 2007). The ratio of hydrogen is twice the oxygen and the carbon. Sugar contains sucrose which is the common saccharide in many plant parts. Sucrose (sugar) is composed of 12 carbon atoms, 22 hydrogen atoms and 11 oxygen atoms. Therefore, the chemical formula of compound sugar C12H22O11. Figure 1, shows the structure of sugar as a 3D diagram. Figure 2, is a demonstration of the structure of sugar in a 2D diagram. The molar mass of compound sugar is 342.2965g/mole with a density of 1.59g/cm3 and a melting point of about 186
Sucrose has an impact on the surface tension; sugar/sucrose increases the surface tension of a solution. As far as freezing point and boiling point, sucrose has a lot of effect, sugar lowers the freezing point of a solution and raises the boiling point of the solution. Here sugar acts as an impurity. In a solution of sugar the viscosity increases with increase in the content of solids but this situation does not happen linearly (Sen, 2014). All sugars are reactive fairly. Fructose and glucose are attached together when a sucrose molecules formed. The two monosaccharides that make up sucrose are more reactive than the sucrose itself and hence they act as the reducing
Canned vegetables and fruits are mixed with sugar to enhance the texture of the product and add flavor. Sugar also contributes in the retention of natural colors. Sugar is also one of the major ingredients in candies; this is due to the high solubility (Gupta, 2013). Dissolving sugar and heating it is the process used to make candy. As the temperature is increased more sugar gets dissolved in water, this process continues bon addition of water till no more sugar can dissolve. All the water evaporates on heating, on cooling the solubility of sugar decreases and crystalizes out (Gupta, 2013).
Sugar is used in general cooking. Sugar is one of the major components in preparations of sauces, puddings and custards. These foods highly require sugar in their preparations to perform a number of duties in addition to its being a sweetener. Sugar has also been applied in the production of beverages to provide sweetness. Sugars are crucial products in brewing and the industry of manufacturing wines by the process of fermentation (Gupta, 2013). Sugar is also applied in non-food fields, for instance;
I. Sugar is used to the setting of glues and