 |
 Steps
in the Sugar Making Process |
 The relative abundance and modest price of sugar that we know today was not always the case. There was a time when sugar was so rare it was presented to kings in jewel covered boxes. As late as the l7th century, doctors in Europe sold sugar for as much as $3.50 per ounce as medicine. In fact, history is rich with the significance of sugar. John Adams, America's second president, explained how high tariffs levied by Britain on sugar imported to the colonies played a role in the American Revolution. Adams said, "I know not why we should blush to confess that molasses was an essential ingredient in the American Independence. Many great events have proceeded from much smaller causes." In 1512, Ponce de Leon brought the first sugarcane to Florida when he landed at St. Augustine. So important was this crop's introduction, the area to the south of St. Augustine derived its name from the Spanish word for cane field, "Canaveral." Cape Canaveral is now home to the NASA Space Center. As processing techniques were established the crop grew rapidly through the Americas. In 1600, the world's largest industry was the production of raw sugar in tropical America. Sugar became the first commodity, besides precious metals, to be shipped from colonial America to Europe. Today the world production of sugar exceeds 120 million tons annually, with per capita consumption by Americans of 67 pounds per year. Over half of the country's supply of cane sugar is produced today in Florida. Pure and Sweet This remarkable, safe and all-natural food has proven to be an important part of our nutritional lives. In its refined state, sugar is one of the purest commercially produced organic substances, containing over 99.9% sucrose. That's why the Food & Drug Administration has determined sugar to be a "safe food." Sugar is all natural and free of any synthetic chemicals, preservatives or additives. The primary responsibility of Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida is to grow, harvest, mill and market this gift of nature. |