Sources

• The largest difference between processed and natural sugar is their potential sources. Natural sugar is a specific kind of sugar made from sugar cane. Processed sugar, though, can also come from sugar cane, but it may also originate from plants like sugar beets, which is sometimes an ingredient in common white sugar, or corn, which is the main ingredient for high fructose corn syrup.
  
  

Appearance

• One of the main differences between processed and natural sugar is the appearance. Processed sugar is typically white, and is composed of tiny grains, though the term processed sugar is not limited to just this kind of sugar found at the grocery store. Natural sugar is brown in color, though typically lighter than brown sugar, which is actually white sugar with molasses added. Natural sugar is also typically composed of much larger grains.
  
  

Common Uses

• The common uses of natural and processed sugar also vary in some respects. Natural sugar can be used for most common applications of sugar, such as sweetening drinks or baking, though there will be a slight taste difference. Processed sugars, however, which come in many different forms, have various applications, especially industrial, that natural sugars don't. High fructose corn syrup, for instance, is a kind of processed sugar found in many soft drinks and other food products in which you normally wouldn't find natural sugar.
  
  

Refinement

• The name natural sugar implies a lack of refinement, but this isn't actually the case. Sugar isn't a naturally occurring substance, like salt; it must be refined from a raw ingredient, most often sugar cane. There is a difference, however, in the amount of refinement that natural and processed sugars undergo. Natural sugar is minimally refined, and the brown color it retains is actually various impurities that haven't been removed. White sugar, on the other hand, is free of impurities because of the additional refinement. Processed sugars like high fructose corn syrup undergo a great deal of refinement to go all the way from corn to a sugar product.