If someone pulled the labels off identical containers of sugar and salt, could you tell which was which? There are ways to tell besides tasting them.
Things Required:
1/4 teaspoonful of salt
2 small saucepans
1/4 teaspoonful of sugar
Directions:
Place the salt in one of the pans and the sugar in the other. Heat each for a few minutes over a low flame.
This Is What Happens:
Nothing happens to one. That one is salt. The other melts and gets brown. That one is sugar.
Science Behind It:
All sugars are simple carbohydrates. They all contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Heating sugar separates its molecules. At about 360°F (189°C), the sugar breaks down into water (hydrogen and oxygen) and carbon. The carbon makes the sugar turn brown (caramelizes it).
