“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Ole’ Willy Shakespeare said it best, but its not just roses. The same can be said about sugar.
Sugar (in one form or another) is added to more food products than you can ever imagine, especially if you heap on the large number of “variants” of sugar – depending on the kind of processing that has occurred; such as high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, malt, sucrose, and the list goes on and on…and on.
Sugar Can Also Be Called….
Here is a list to get you started in identifying sugars. There’s only 25 and probably by the time you’re done reading it, they’ll have invented five more.
- Brown sugar
- Corn syrup
- Demerara Sugar
- Dextrose
- Free Flowing Brown Sugars
- Fructose
- Galactose
- Glucose
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Honey
- Invert Sugar
- Lactose
- Malt
- Maltodextrin
- Maltose
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Muscovado or Barbados Sugar
- Panocha
- Powdered or confectioner’s sugar
- Rice Syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar (granulated)
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
Now, most of these you’ve probably seen before, like brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and fructose, but some, like invert sugar, maltodextrin, treacle, and panocha are a bit mysterious. Let’s check out.
Other Strange Sugar Names
Now, most of these you’ve probably seen before, like brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and fructose, but some, like invert sugar, maltodextrin, treacle, and panocha are a bit mysterious. Let’s check out.
- Demerara sugar: sugar that originated from the sugar cane fields in Demerara, a region of South America colonized by the Dutch in 1611.
- Galactose: often referred to as galactan, is a sugar glucose found in hemicellulose, a compound present in the cell walls of plants.
- Invert sugar: a mixture of glucose and fructose.
- Maltodextrin: is produced from starch by a process called partial hydrolysis and may either be tasteless or moderately sweet.
- Maltose: or malt sugar is created by the break down of starch and is found in the germination of barely.
- Muscovado or Barbados Sugar: sugar farmed on the island of Barbados.
- Panocha: a kind of sugar cane found in the Philippines.
- Treacle: a syrup created during the refining of sugar cane; commonly called “golden syrup.”
- Turbinado sugar: partially refined sugar cane; also known as natural brown sugar.
Image credit: howzey
jej, sorry, but someone is pulling your leg here. I just looked up Maple syrup in my list, put out by the Food Standards of Australia & New Zealand,link here:-
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/nuttab2010/nuttab2010onlinesearchabledatabase/onlineversion.cfm?&action=getFood&foodID=12A10069
It is saying that there is 74.9 grams of sucrose in it. Yes, this is the 100% pure Maple syrup. You did read on this site all the different names for sugar. I am here to tell you there are now more than 50 different names for sugar, but am surprised that as a fructose free (well, almost) person you would be taken in like this……
74.9 grams, that’s on top of the fructose and glucose!!
These manufacturers will do anything to get you to buy their product, never mind that it may be poisoning you.
I am also fructose free, (well, almost, I got pulled up by someone who took umbrage at my FF comment!! picky picky) have been for 13 months now, lost 16 kilos, and I’ve become quite a researcher, thanks to Google. I’m addicted. This site is an alphabetical list of food , this particular one shows how much fructose is in foods, but not by brand names. Here’s the link to it starting at ‘A’:-
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/nuttab2010/nuttab2010onlinesearchabledatabase/onlineversion.cfm?&action=alphabeticalList&letter=A
Nice to find a fellow FF’er…..good luck with it all.
Google Sweet Poison for a link to the Sweet Poison forums for great recipes & tips etc.
Silver Angel
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SMILE!!
“Panocha”? You’re kidding, right? Panocha is a Spanish language slang term for the human female genitalia.
Is cellulose also sugar
panocha? no way, srly?! XDDDD
Jej, I would love for you to go on. I’m trying to switch from an unhealthy eating style to healthy. I could use all the information I can get. I found your post gave a lot of good information
do u know what the latin name for sugar is????????
HFCS is worse than sugar because of its ability to be easily added it to recipes which historically did not contain sugar. ( ie. Bread!). Due to its consistency, it is easy to successfully and inexpensively add the sweetness to anything a company wants to liven up their flavors.
thanks this site really helped me alot with my homework!! although im looking for description on what the sugars are for-if you could add that then this site would be amazong !!
keep up the great work !!
I don’t think honey is really that bad for you. I heard that it actually has some health benefits.. at least I think so. And is evaporated cane juice bad for you cos my Kashi Heart-to-Heart cereal has that and honey in it, but I love it so much that I’m wondering if it’s those ingredients that are making it addicting haha
I’ve switched to organic Agave Nectar. I find it at Whole Foods but I’m sure other stores will carry it as well. Agave Nectar is lighter than honey, has no “sugar free” after taste and falls much lower on the glycemic index so it’s even safe for diabetics to use in moderation. Not to mention, it tastes great!
The list impresses, I dont know that there are so much names
About the “big sugar” it is funny =)
Thank you for the list, it is very helpful. With so many sugar substitutes out there it is difficult to pin-point which product has the good sugar and which doesn’t.
There’s a ton of sugar alcohols and artificial sugars too. Even though technically they don’t have calories and the body doesn’t consider them to be of nutrient value they should still be elimintated in my opinion or used occasionally as they can increase appetite elevate glucose levels.
i’ve eliminated all high fructose from my diet..its really easy..for example EVERY SINGLE normal brand ketchup has it..so i went to whole foods and found an organic ketchup that doesnt have it..yeah it was a bit more expensive but id rather have little food and have it be pure and organic then tons of shit food..its YOUR life
other really good substitutues
pancake/waffle syrup REPLACE WITH maple syrup (my fav is CAMP’s 100% pure maple syrup..it tastes EXACTLY like mrs butterworth)
philadelphia cream cheese (with loads or nasty ingredients REPLACE WITH horizon organic cream cheese (it tastes yummy and its ingred. are organic grade A milk and cream, cheese cultures, salt and locust bean gum..the only thing that sucks is that there’s not many varieties but if you like just cream cheese this is good stuff)
margarine/butter REPLACE WITH soy garden 100% vegan spread (at first i was reluctant to try it but it doesnt taste like soy at all, tastes like normal butter i think its yummy). Smart Balance Light with Flax is also good but it has one teeny downside ..artificial flavor added
waffles (pillsbury and all those other popular brands) REPLACE WITH Van’s Organic Flax Waffles..theyre soooo good…and another plus instead of adding sugar these waffles are sweetened with organic pear juice..they taste better than any brand of waffles ive ever tried
i could go on and on and on but i dont think a lot of people with want to read soo much
We have cut out most sugars at our house. I don’t even have white sugar anymore.
When it needs to be sweetened, we used black strap melasses (lots of iron), pure unpasturized honey or home made maple syrop.
It tastes just as great, even better. I can’t even eat white sugar anymore, it’s too sweet. I could eat a spoonful of honey though… especially when it’s fresh…
Yummy!
There is a really good book about sugar and how it affects the body called “kick the sugar habbit.” I found it to be life changing.
I’ve read both that high fructose corn syrup is basically poison that makes people fat, and that it is no worse than sugar. I’ve noticed that if you avoid foods with HFCS, you tend to cut out the high calorie processed junk food anyway, so it’s not a bad thing to avoid if you can.
BUT—all sugars are NOT the same. Yes, some are healthier (MUCH) healthier–than others. Some have vitamins and minerals and other properties that are healthful and even actually HEALING to the body, as opposed to some that cause HARM to the body. I urge everyone to research and study and learn which are good and which are not.
You forgot poison … but that’s just me. Heh.
Thanks for the great cites, Jim.
Brian
Anything that ends in “-ose” is a sugar…fructose, glucose, sucrose, galactose, tagatose, mannose, etc. You’d be surprised where it turns up…ketchup, salad dressing, yogurt, etc.
About HFCS being “worse” than plain white sugar:
NY Times article – inconclusive
Weston Price Foundation – worse than sugar.
Excellent post and comments. I have been trying to track down all the sugar pseudonyms. Are there any on that list that are “better” than they are worse?
Thanks.
#9 High Fructose Corn Syrup is the one that concerns me the most, I think. It’s in practically everything we consume.
This is the one form of sugar that I work the hardest at avoiding, and my weight loss and overall health improved from doing so.
I recommend that everyone educate themselves about high fructose corn syrup.
In Florida it’s called “Big Sugar”, because it’s an economic giant with serious political power.
26. Florida crystals
27. Hydrolysed starch
28. Fruit juice concentrate
29. Polydextrose
30. Evaporated cane juice
31. Beet sugar
32. Grape sugar
33. Mono, di and/or poly-saccarides
34. Caramel
35. Raw sugar