Ingredient: Sugar

Chemical name of ingredient: Sucrose
Chemical formula of ingredient: C12H22O11
Health effect:

• Raises cholesterol & gives heart disease. 
• Lot's of calories with no essential nutrients. 
• Increases risk of becoming overweight & obese. 
• Doesn't affect you if too much isn't consumed. 

Made from: Sugar is derived from sugarcane or sugar beet, which are plants. To make sugar from beets, the beets are sliced and placed in hot water, which produces a sugary juice. This juice then goes through several filtration, purification and concentration stages to separate the sugars. The juice is also boiled so that it thickens and more crystals are developed. The syrupy juice is sent through a centrifuge to separate the crystals. The crystal are then granulated. With sugarcane, the stalks are crushed, and water and lime are added to produce juice. The juice is boiled until the sugar crystallizes. The crystals are put into a centrifuge, which separates the syrup. The sugar then goes through the refining process, which involves washing, filtration and other purification methods to produce white sugar crystals.

Physical Properties: 

• Solid/hard small crystals
• Odorless
• Sweet

Chemical Properties:

• Melts when heated.
• Turns brown when melted.
• Ability to form crystals if done/heated properly.

Purpose: The purpose of including sugar on your Mochi recipe is to keep the Mochi soft, and silky, or if you will be eating it as a cold dessert. The sugar will also give the Mochi a nice, sweet taste rather than plain.

Lewis structure for sucrose, also known as table sugar.