Overview

Sucrose (SUE-krose) is a white crystalline solid or powder with no odor but a characteristic sweet taste. It is the most widely used sweetener in the world. When heated, it tends to decompose, breaking down into carbon and water. The presence of carbon accounts for the increasing dark color of the compound as it caramelizes (changes from sucrose to caramel).

Sucrose is a disaccharide, a carbohydrate that consists of two monosaccharides. The carbohydrates are a large family of organic compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the latter two in a ratio of about two to one (as is the case with water). Thus the name "carbo-hydrate." Some familiar monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose; while the disaccharides include sucrose, maltose (malt sugar), and lactose (milk sugar). Sucrose molecules consist of a molecule of glucose joined to a molecule of fructose.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Saccharose; table...