sucrose

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sucrose

organic compound

Also known as: table sugar

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 6, 2024 • Article History

Category: Arts & Culture

Or:: table sugar

Related Topics:: disaccharide; glucose; fructose

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sucrose, organic compound, colourless sweet-tasting crystals that dissolve in water. Sucrose (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) is a disaccharide; hydrolysis, by the enzyme invertase, yields “invert sugar” (so called because the hydrolysis results in an inversion of the rotation of plane polarized light), a 50:50 mixture of fructose and glucose, its two constituent monosaccharides.

Sucrose occurs naturally in sugarcane, sugar beets, sugar maple sap, dates, and honey. It is produced commercially in large amounts (especially from sugarcane and sugar beets) and is used almost entirely as food. See also sugar.