Differences in the thermal behavior of beet and cane sucrose sources

•Significant thermal behavior differences were found between and within beet and cane sugar sources.•All beet and cane samples exhibited heating rate dependency.•Impurities play a complex role in the thermal behavior of sucrose.•Thermal stability at 10 °C/min from least to greatest was: analytical grade cane≪white refined cane

Sucrose is a major worldwide commodity, produced mainly from sugarbeet and sugarcane. Despite the nearly identical chemical composition of these sugar sources, some differences in aroma and performance in products have been reported in the literature. However, little research exploring thermal behavior differences was found. By employing thermal analysis methods, this research reveals significant thermal behavior differences both between and within beet and cane sugars. Beet samples exhibited only one large endothermic DSC peak (Tmonset = 188.45 ± 0.43); whereas twenty-seven of the thirty-one cane samples exhibited two endothermic DSC peaks, one small peak (Tmonset = 153.62 ± 6.04) proceeded by one large peak (Tmonset = 187.33 ± 1.72). However, the four remaining cane samples, containing either high ash content or processing added impurities, exhibited only one large endothermic DSC peak. Understanding the thermal behavior differences between and within sucrose sources is of substantial importance to the food industry, especially in applications involving heat, such as baking, extrusion cooking, pasteurization, and drying.