Sugar
Sugar beet is harvested during cool seasons, and then a rotor beater cuts off the head of the beet, which then is then left in the field. A beet loader pulls the beets out of the earth and into a truck, where the beet is driven to a processing plant. The processor slices the beets into thin chips called cossettes. The extraction takes place in a diffuser where the beet is kept in contact with hot water for about an hour. The diffuser is a large agitated tank in which the cossettes slowly move from one end to the other as the water is moved in the opposite direction. This is called counter-current flow and as the water goes it becomes a stronger and stronger sugar juice.