Sugar is one ingredient that is available in every Indian household. It is a staple ingredient across many delicacies, and let’s be honest an Indian home cannot survive without sugary treats. Be it post meals or on special occasions, sugary delights are one type of food that can always help uplift our mood. It doesn't matter what size or shape the sweet delight may be, as long as it has sugar in it, it makes a sad day much happier, don’t you agree? Some of us put sugar crystals in curd, or roll it in a roti or simply sprinkle some in our mouths after every meal. But have you ever thought about how the crystals of sugar that are available in our pantry all year round is made? If you are just as curious as us about the process of making sugar, then we have a video for you!
This video was shared by Instagram-based food blogger @foodie_incarnate, and it has already gone viral with over 1 million views and more than 90k likes. Take a look:
How Is Sugar Prepared Commercially In India?
The video, from a sugar mill in Ayodhya, shows how the sugar cane is freshly harvested from farms and weighed, and is then placed on conveyor belts for machine cutting. The machine simply chops the sugar cane finely, post which the process of juicing the sugar cane begins. This process is the same as that of the street vendors who sell sugar cane juice; the only difference is that in factories it is done on a large scale and much more mechanically. The chopped sugar cane is pushed through huge rollers, and the pressure created by the roller helps extract the juice. The extracted juice and the chopped sugar cane are pushed through rollers multiple times, to ensure all the juice is extracted from the canes.
Now, the extracted juice is treated with steam, and sulphur and lime are mixed and then again heated with steam. After this, the juice is left for a while so that the impurities settle down. The pure juice is then processed through evaporators to remove the moisture, turning the juice into a thick sugary syrup. The syrup is then moved for crystallization as the sugar syrup is further boiled in tanks and it starts forming crystals of sugar. The crystallized sugar is further steamed at 110 Degree C in order to remove the dirt and impurities. The end result is thus the crystal white sugar that is packed, and we finally get to use in our daily cooking. Isn’t this so interesting? Did you ever imagine how the process of making the simple sugar we use so generously across delicacies would be this long and tedious?
Watch the full video of sugar-making below:
What did you think of the entire process? Let us know your thoughts.