Glucose and Sirup

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MESSRS. EDITORS—I have seen it stated in some papers that glucose or grape sugar never crystallized. This is a mistake. Glucose is made in large quantities from potatoes, in France and England, and has as fine and crystalline an appearance as any sugar. For a long time only sirup could be produced; but it was found at last that if the purified sirup was rapidly evaporated to a density of 45 Baume, and then left to cool slowly in a warm place, it all crystallized in a solid mass, but if stirred occasionally, granular crystals were obtained. This sugar is much used to adulterate other sugar, but its sweetening properties are greatly inferior to cane sugar, the ratio being variously estimated at from two or three to five. Honey is a mixture of grape sugar and fruit sugar. The grape sugar in it is mostly capable of crystallization; it often separates from the fluid portion, and is then said to be candied. This sugar is often found in raisins in the form of small gritty crystals, hence its name. As to the value of the Sorgho Saccharum sirup as a marketable article, I am not prepared to speak, but I do not think it can be sold here. People buy some of it from curiosity, but seldom more than once. I have baen assured by those who have the most of it, that they can find no market for it, and they intend to distil it, for which purpose it is very well suited. As many as 225 gallons of moderately concentrated sirup have been produced here from an acre of ground planted with the cane. Interesting reports on- the optical and other relations of crystalline and amorphous grape sugar, and on the other varieties, have been made during the past year by Dubrunfait, Biot, and Bechamp, in France, and by Erd-man and Kobill, in Germany. J. CAMPBELL. Dayton, Ohio, March, 1858.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 13 Issue 27This article was published with the title “Glucose and Sirup” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 13 No. 27 (), p. 211
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican03131858-211c

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