THE FASCINATING STORY OF SUGAR

CROSS-CURRICULA STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM CHELSEA SUGAR

Curriculum Areas: Levels 3-4 +
Science: Material World and Living World
Students will research and be able to describe the chemical and physical
changes that occur in sugar from growth to final production. They will
learn that some plants produce and store sugar for future growth needs.
Through investigation and experimentation, students will learn about
how people experience and recognise different taste sensations.
Social Sciences: Economic World
Students will learn how people participate in the production and
distribution of sugar both in historical and present-day contexts.
Technology: Technological Knowledge
Students will learn about technology used in sugar production.

four tastes: sweet = sugar, jam; sour = lemon, vinegar;

salt = cheese, vegemite; bitter = coffee, lemon pith.
Have students take the test in pairs to see if they place each sample
in the proper category? Record results. Take the test again, but have
students hold their noses. Compare the results. Explain that taste
is really a combination of several senses, including smell and the
feel of the food in the mouth. Experiment by smelling a piece of
apple while eating a piece of raw potato. Did it taste like apple?
What gave the show away? (The feel in the mouth.)

Links to English and Health

TUNING IN TO TASTE

Have students identify the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch,
smell). Rate the following criteria in order of importance when
we select and eat our food.
- colour - texture (mouth feel) - smell - taste
List which senses are being used in each case. Do students think
that sound plays any part in the enjoyment of food? Discuss.
Identify the two most important senses relating to food (taste
and smell). Ask the students to describe how they believe we
get taste from food. Have they heard of taste buds? What are they?
Teacher Task: Print out and distribute to students the information at:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/taste_buds.html
As a shared or individual reading experience, have students find
answers to the following questions:
- what is the correct name for taste buds and where are they found?
- what are the four main tastes that we experience when eating?
- how many taste buds do we have, and why do certain foods have a
stronger taste for younger people?
- what important part does the nose play in how food tastes?
- how does the nose work in conjunction with our taste buds?
- when can we find that our food doesnt have much flavour?

SWEET

BITTER

SOUR

SALTY

Introduce students to the four tastes, and the areas of the tongue
where they are sensed.
Tasting Activities: Prepare a blindfold tasting that represents the

70% of the worlds sugar is produced from sugar cane

FOCUS ON SUGAR

Most students will agree sweet is their favourite taste and that
sour and bitter are the tastes they like the least. Introduce sugar
as a common ingredient that we use in preparing food often to
improve a sour or bitter taste. Can students give examples, eg
- we add sugar to lemon juice to make a lemon drink
- when we pickle onions, we improve their taste by adding sugar
- some people use sugar in tea or coffee to mask the bitter taste.
Introduce the idea that sugar is a natural product, produced
and stored by some plants to help them grow. Divide students
into web research groups to report back on the following topics.

HOW SUGAR IS MADE

www.sucrose.com/learn.html select > Making Sugar

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what plants do we use to produce sugar, and what plant

produces about 70% of the worlds sugar? (Sugar cane.)
what reasons are given for people liking sugar?
what is the total tonnage of the worlds annual production, and
which country produces the most cane sugar?
use the interactive map to locate the country and region
closest to New Zealand that produces sugar cane.
what is the proper name for sugar? (Sucrose.)
how does the plant make sugar and for what purpose?
why is most cane sugar made in two stages?
what are the growing conditions necessary for sugar cane?

TASTE, HISTORY AND MANUFACTURE

WHY DO WE REFINE SUGAR?

An early Queensland sugar cane train

THE HISTORY OF SUGAR

www.sucrose.com/learn.html > select History

- in what parts of the world was sugar first used, and how long ago?
- why was the secret of cane sugar kept closely guarded for so long?
- when did European cultures first come across sugar, and what
did they call it? (This new spice.)
- what reasons can you find for sugar being known as white gold?
- calculate how much a kilo of sugar would be in todays NZ money
if it was at the same 1319 AD London price. ($US 1.00 = NZ $0.70)
- what kept the price of sugar so high in the 1800s, and what was
done to make it affordable for the ordinary person?

Explain to students that:

- after the cane has been harvested it is cut and shredded by large
machines so that rollers can squeeze out the sweet juice
- the juice is then filtered (sieved) to remove pieces of the cane
- it is then boiled to remove some of the water, and then boiled again
to make crystals of raw sugar.
Tell students that this is the form in which the sugar arrives at the
Chelsea Sugar Refinery. It still has many impurities in it, and Chelsea
Sugars job is to clean and purify it. This is what we know as refining.
Student Challenge: The raw sugar has arrived at your refinery. It
still contains dirt and other impurities, so is not good enough to
use for cooking and baking. The challenge is to refine it clean it up!
Give each group sugar crystals, sand (impurities), filter paper and
a filter funnel. Mix sugar and sand together in equal proportions
and add water. This mixture represents raw sugar arriving at the
Chelsea Sugar Refinery. Have groups design and test methods of
separating the sugar from the mixture and discuss how successful
they were. As an extension activity, the clear liquid can be heated
gently to evaporate the water and small sugar crystals will appear.

HOW DOES CHELSEA REFINE THE SUGAR?

Cane-burning is no longer used in Queensland for the

sake of the environment, it is machine - harvested green!

NEW ZEALANDS SUGAR IN THE CANE FIELD

www.chelsea.co.nz > select Growing Sugar and Milling Sugar

Tell students that most of the Chelsea sugar we buy in New Zealand
comes from the tropical cane fields of Queensland, Australia.
- what part of the sugar cane is Chelsea sugar made from?
- sugar cane is similar to which plant species, and how tall does it grow?
- what does the plant use to make its own food?
- why is ripe fruit usually as sweet as sugar?
- what climatic conditions does Queensland have that makes it very
suitable for growing sugar cane?
- how long does it take sugar cane to become ready for harvest?
- what can you see is being used for harvesting the cane?
- how many crops can be grown from the cane stumps before the
ground is planted with another crop to add manure to the soil?
- after machine-cutting, what is the first step taken in getting the
sweet juice out of the cane?
- how is the juice processed to make it suitable for transport ?

www.chelsea.co.nz > select Making Sugar > select Refining Sugar

Allow online time for all groups to work through the sugar-refining
process, using the notes and playing the short video clips. Have
each group use this information to construct a flow chart to show
the process from arrival at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery to packaging
for distribution. A student copymaster The Refining Process gives
greater detail. Download at: www.teachingonline.org/chelsea.pdf

CONCLUDING ACTIVITIES

Through class discussion, decide how all the research information

will be summarised and displayed as a combined class project.
Will each group contribute to the presentation? Consider:
- a wall display of written reports and illustrations of each aspect
studied - invite other classes and parents for a guided visit,
which will include oral presentations from each group member
- preparing multi-choice sugar questionnaires for other classes
- designing and preparing a flow chart that clearly and briefly shows
the full process from harvest to distribution
- having each student write a report on a chosen sugar topic
- summarising all findings on a class/school web page.
Using the Products and Nutrition section of the Chelsea Sugar
website, (www.chelsea.co.nz ) list all products produced and how
they are used. Find favourite recipes that use these products.
Create a class recipe book. This could be used for class fundraising.