We all know that sugar is use as sweetener to our favorite beverages, breads, cakes, pastries and even as preservative to most food products. But only few people know the other wonderful uses of sugar. Here I have listed some of its practical uses. If you know other uses of sugar that is not on the list feel free to include it on the comment box.
- Sugar can lighten skin discoloration. To lighten those ugly brownish sun spots add½ tsp of sugar to a bowl filled with the juice of half a lemon. Then apply to the backs of your hands. Leave on for a couple minutes, then rinse. The combination of slightly abrasive sugar granules and the natural bleaching agents in the citrus fruit will gently fade dark spots, restoring a youthful glow to your skin.
- Sugar can help clean pimple overnight. If you wake up with a pimple,mix 1tsp of sugar and a few drops of water in a shallow bowl to make a paste. Apply enough of the paste to cover the blemish and leave on overnight. Sucrose inhibits the growth of bacteria to help reduce the swelling by morning.
- Sugar brings instant relief to painful burned tongue. If you have ever burned your tongue on a hot drink, or hot food sprinkleyour tongue with a pinch of sugar and hold it against the roof of your mouth. The melting crystals stimulate the brain to release endorphins, feel-good hormones that can alleviate pain.
- To enhance the sweetness and juiciness of corn on cob justadd a pinch of sugar to the boiling water. Then cook the corn as usual. Rather than sweetening the corn, the sucrose (sugar) keeps the natural sugars in the kernels by preventing them from escaping during the cooking process.
- Grow a super-juicy tomato with sugar. If you want to grow your own sweet tasting cherry tomatoes and at the same time protect your plants from parasitic damage then try this trick; after you dig the hole, pour in 1 tbs. of sugar and then plant the tomatoes. The sugar eliminates the root-eating microorganisms by absorbing the moisture that they require in order to multiply.
- Keep cookies fresh. To keep the moistness and chewiness of your cookies just sprinkle the bottom of the cookie jar with a thin layer of sugar before adding the sweets. The sugar will absorb the moisture, staving of staleness and extend the shell life of your cookies.
- Keep Cake Fresh. Sprinkle home-made cakes with sugar while they are still hot. This keeps them fresh longer>Sugar can make flowers in the vase last longer. To do this just add a tablespoon of sugar to a liter of water in the flower vase. The dissolved sugar nourishes the stems and keeps the flowers stay fresh longer. If you add a tablespoon of vinegar as well, you won't get the mold and bacterial growth that causes that bad smell from the water after a few days.
- Sugar can speed up the process the flower buds bloom. To do this cut the flowers a day or two early and place it in a vase filled with a mixture of 3Tbs. of sugar and 2Tbs. of vinegar per quart of warm water . The sweetener provides the essential nutrients that the buds need to bloom faster, while the vinegar kills bacteria to keep the flowers fresh longer.
- Sugar helps to improve the outdoor plant health. When you see your outdoor plant looks unhealthy and you notice small lumps on the roots, your garden may have a nematode infection. These are tiny worms that invade the root. Mix handfuls of sugar into the soil around infected plants. This increases the numbers of bacteria that can fight the invasion.
- Sugar can help fire up the grill. If you have trouble getting a coal or wood to fire toss a few spoonfuls of sugar onto the coals, then light as usual. When exposed to high temperatures, sugar rapidly decomposes and forms hydroxymethyl-furfural, a chemical that easily ignites.
- Sugar can quickly remove paint residue on your hands. To do this pour 1 tsp. each of sugar and olive oil into your palms. Rub your hands together until all residues are gone. The oil breaks down the paint's bond, making it slide off your skin easily, while abrasive sugars granules help scrape off stubborn pigment. An added bonus is sugar scrub will moisturize your hands, leaving them soft and smooth.
- Sugar as flies trap. To make a sugar flies trap combine ½ cup of sugar, 2 cups of milk and 2oz of ground pepper in a small saucepan. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then pour into empty plates and leave in the open where flies will be attracted to its sweetness. Heating the ingredients causes the sugar to melt, making it very sticky. Milk and pepper enhance the aroma of the caramelized sweetener, attracting flies to the glue-like mixture and trapping them instantly.
- Kill Cockroaches with sugar. Mix equal parts of sugar and baking powder. Sugar attracts cockroaches and baking powder kills them.
