Sugar (sucrose) is best known to provide sweetness to foods. However, sugar is a versatile ingredient and contributes many functional properties to food products. 

• Flavour Balance. Sugar adds sweetness, and balances acidic and bitter flavours in tomato and vinegar-based sauces, dressings and brines;
• Preservation. Sugar stops bacteria from growing and delays spoilage. 
• Texture and Mouthfeel. Sugar helps provide the soft structure in baked goods and the smoothness in frozen dairy products;
• Volume. Sugar adds volume to different products, and that allows them to be tall, fluffy, or soft. 
• Colour. Sugar reacts with heat (caramelization) or with heat and proteins (Maillard reaction) to create a golden brown colour in baked goods and sauces.
• Taste. A little bit of sugar can make high-fibre foods taste better. 
• Challenges in Sugar Replacement and Reformulation. While some functions can be replaced by other ingredients, others are unique to sugar. Because there is no single universal sugar replacer that can be used in every application, it can often be a challenge to reduce or remove sugar in some recipes.