Definition

Noun: 1. A simple sugar found in honey and in many ripe fruits: Fruit sugar is a type of monosaccharide, a basic form of carbohydrate. It is naturally sweet and occurs in various plants.

Usage

• Fruit sugar is the primary natural sweetener in fruits like apples, pears, and berries.
• Unlike table sugar, fruit sugar is often consumed along with dietary fiber when eating whole fruits.
• The chemical name for fruit sugar is fructose.

Examples

• The sweetness of a ripe mango comes mainly from fruit sugar.
• Fruit sugar and glucose are both simple sugars that provide energy.
• While honey contains fruit sugar, it should still be consumed in moderation.

Advanced Usage

• In food science, fruit sugar (fructose) is often discussed in the context of high-fructose corn syrup, a common sweetener in processed foods and beverages.
• From a nutritional perspective, the fruit sugar in whole fruit is metabolized differently than isolated fructose added to foods, due to the presence of fiber and other nutrients.

Variants and Related Words

• Fructose (n): The scientific and most common synonym for fruit sugar.
• Levulose (n): An older, less common term for fructose.
• Monosaccharide (n): The category of simple sugars to which fruit sugar belongs.
• High-fructose corn syrup (n): A sweetener made from corn starch that contains significant amounts of fructose.

Synonyms

• Fructose: The direct scientific synonym.
• Fruit sugar and fructose are used interchangeably in common and scientific language.

Notes on Meaning

The term fruit sugar specifically refers to the simple sugar fructose. It is distinct from other sugars like glucose (blood sugar) or sucrose (table sugar), which is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose. The name highlights its common natural source.

Noun

1. a simple sugar found in honey and in many ripe fruits