Sugar is a carbohydrate that is processed and refined from sugar cane or sugar beet. It comes in many forms, such as:
- Granulated
- Powdered
- Crystallized
- Cubed
- Brown
- White
- Rainbow-coloured1
Sugar is very similar in appearance to salt, being usually white and powdered, but take care not to confuse the two. This is very important. No matter how similar they may look, they are worlds apart in taste. Salt is not sweet. To avoid confusion in restaurants, sugar is either provided in small paper packets or in a sugar shaker2.
Another thing not to confuse with sugar is artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are available in little paper packets. Just remember though that sugar packets are generally white or brown depending on the colour of the sugar inside them. Artificial sweetner, however, comes in blue or pink packets, and the substance inside looks like talcum powder, it also tastes faintly odd. There may be a health warning on the artificial sweetner packet. As in, 'if we feed this stuff to rats, in quantities exceeding 20 times their body weight, they just might get cancer.'
Sugar, in pure form, is often added to tea and coffee, particularly by people with a 'sweet tooth'. Sugar can also be found in cakes, biscuits, and sweets3, called 'candy' in the US.
Sugar has not been recognised as an illegal substance as of yet but as with all things that are enjoyable it probably will not be long before it is so eat as much as possible while you still can.
1 This sort of sugar has been dyed different colours with food colouring.
2 An item much like a salt shaker, but bigger. The relative sizes of salt and sugar shakers reflects the quantities that are likely to be used.
3 Sweets are made from sugar, usually with artificial flavours and colours added.
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