Sugar

Sugar is a sweet food that we add to many things. It is used to make candy, cake, and cookies. Sugar can be white or brown. It comes from plants called sugarcane and sugar beets. Sugar tastes great, but eating too much can hurt your teeth.

How Sugar Is Made

Sugarcane is a tall plant that looks like bamboo. Sugar beets are big root vegetables that grow in the ground. Workers cut the plants and take out the sweet juice. The juice is boiled until tiny sugar crystals form. Those crystals are the sugar we buy at the store.

Kinds of Sugar

There are many kinds of sugar. White sugar is the most common type. Brown sugar has a little syrup mixed in. Powdered sugar is very fine and is used on top of cakes. Cubes of sugar are sometimes put in tea and coffee.

Fun Facts

• Sugarcane grows as tall as 20 feet high.
• Brazil grows more sugarcane than any other country.
• Honey was used as a sweet food before people had sugar.

Did You Know?

The average American eats about 150 pounds of sugar every year without even knowing it. A lot of it is hidden in drinks and snacks!