Tag: Sucrose vs lactose

Contrary to a popular misconception, standard table sugar is not manufactured from milk, which contains its own distinct sugar called lactose. Table sugar, or sucrose, is a different chemical compound derived exclusively from plants such as sugarcane and sugar beets.

While all common disaccharides share the chemical formula $C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}$, their distinct structures and properties allow for various methods of identification. Understanding how to differentiate disaccharides is fundamental in food science, biochemistry, and quality control.

Sucrose is universally recognized as the standard for measuring sweetness, with a relative sweetness of 1.0. The question of which is sweeter, sucrose or lactose, is best answered by understanding this standard, revealing that the familiar table sugar is significantly sweeter than the sugar found in milk.

While all carbohydrates provide energy, different sugar molecules behave uniquely within the body. Sucrose, or table sugar, is widely used for its sweetness, but what's the difference between sucrose and lactose, the sugar found in milk? The answer lies in their chemical structure, origins, and how our bodies process them.