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Re: Hummingbird food



At 12:27 PM 7/25/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>Is there any difference in quality for hummingbird clear nectar mixes
>between a sucrose and dextrose combination vs 100% sucrose?  Thanks for
>any information.

Late response since I'm just getting to look at old e-mails:

Sucrose can potentially come in two forms -- dextrose and levulose (I think 
that's the correct spelling).  These two forms are named for the way the 
crystalline forms of the molecules rotate light (dex to the right, lev to 
the left).  And that rotation is due to the three-dimensional arrangement 
of the individual forms of the molecules (known as enantiomorphs -- one of 
the great words in chemistry circles).  I believe naturally occurring 
sucrose (from sugar cane, for example) is always dextrose.  Synthesized 
sucrose (made from simpler sugars, I suppose) is a mixture of the two forms.

I've always wondered at the distinctions on food labels.  Cynic that I am, 
I've always assumed that listing both sucrose and dextrose was a way to 
make it look as if there were less "sugar" in the product.  I think that 
the two terms are, for all practical purposes, interchangeable.

If I have this wrong, I'd appreciate some clarification.  Perhaps my brain 
is becoming caramelized.

Norm

***********************************************************
Norman Budnitz, nbudnitz@duke.edu
919-684-3592 (day), 919-383-0553 (eve),919-660-7293 (fax)

(work) Biology Dept, Duke Univ, Box 90338, Durham NC 27708
(home) 4115 Garrett Drive, Durham NC 27705

PROGRESS: the victory of laughter over dogma.
(Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas)