You’ve probably heard of solar energy, but what about “sugar energy”? All green plants make sugar through photosynthesis, the process plants use to transform the sun’s energy into sugar, their stored food and energy supply.

The recipe for “sugar energy” is pretty easy and contains just four natural ingredients:

• Carbon Dioxide
• Soil
• Sunshine
• Water

This powerful combination is all green plants need to make sugar (or sucrose, sugar’s molecular name). Here’s how they do it:

• Step 1: The plant pulls water and minerals out of the soil through the roots.
• Step 2: The leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air.
• Step 3: Chlorophyll in the leaf cells absorbs energy from the sunlight.
• Step 4: Sunlight energy is used to make sucrose from carbon dioxide and water.

And while all green plants naturally make sugar through photosynthesis, sugar beets and sugar cane produce the greatest quantities of sugar, which is why they make the most efficient choices from which to extract sugar.

Since we’ve already provided a little science review, here are a few definitions as well:

• carbon dioxide – a natural, colorless, odorless gas
• chlorophyll – a green substance in the leaves of plants which helps make sugar from elements in air and water
• sucrose – a compound which is the chief component of beet and cane sugar