Other and sucrose: 82 foods rated

Chocolate chips are high in sucrose because they are chocolate in small pieces, and the recipe does not change. This is the axis where chocolate is genuinely a problem - on the fructose axis it is not, because sucrose splits into equal halves. Here nothing splits it.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Dairy-free chocolate is high in sucrose because removing the milk leaves the sugar exactly where it was. This is the axis where chocolate is genuinely a problem - on the fructose axis it is not, because sucrose splits into equal halves. Here nothing splits it.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Hazelnut spread lists sugar first and hazelnut well down - it is a sugar product with nuts in it rather than the reverse. The whole jar is a large sucrose dose.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Milk chocolate is high in sucrose because sugar is usually the first ingredient, ahead of the cocoa. This is the axis where chocolate is genuinely a problem - on the fructose axis it is not, because sucrose splits into equal halves. Here nothing splits it.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Plant-based ice cream needs more sugar than dairy ice cream, not less - sugar does the work that milk fat would otherwise do in keeping the texture soft.

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Sorbet is fruit and sugar frozen together, with no fat or protein to slow anything. The sugar is there for texture as much as taste - without it a sorbet freezes into a block.

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White chocolate is high in sucrose because there are no cocoa solids to dilute the sugar at all. This is the axis where chocolate is genuinely a problem - on the fructose axis it is not, because sucrose splits into equal halves. Here nothing splits it.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Cornflakes carry added sugar even in the plain version, and the frosted ones far more. Maize itself is starch, which matters here too - sucrase-isomaltase handles isomaltose from starch as well as sucrose.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Dark chocolate carries less sugar than milk chocolate, and the higher the cocoa percentage the less again - an 85% bar is roughly a sixth sugar where a 45% one is more than half.

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Granola is bound with syrup - that is what makes it clump - so the sugar is structural rather than optional. Dried fruit stirred through adds more.

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Ketchup carries added sugar to balance the tomato's acidity, and a good deal of it - roughly a quarter by weight in many recipes. A tablespoon is a real dose.

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Almond cream is low in sucrose because sugar is a real part of the recipe, but it is spread thinly in a filling. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Almond yogurt is low in sucrose because the fermentation consumes part of whatever sugar was added. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Apple puree carries the apple's sugars, and the apple's sugars are free fructose and glucose rather than sucrose. Unsweetened compote is genuinely low here even though it tastes sweet.

Beetroot juice powder concentrates the root that table sugar is made from - but the sugar is extracted at the refinery, not left in the juice. What is powdered here is what remains.

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A bouillon cube is salt and fat with a little sugar to round the flavour. It dissolves into a litre of water, which is the dilution that matters.

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Breadcrumbs are dried bread, and bread dough carries a little sugar that the yeast mostly ate before baking. Sweet breads and brioche crumbs are a different matter.

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Chocolate as a category spans everything from a 90% bar to a sugar-first confection, so the level here is an average of a very wide range. The cocoa percentage on the wrapper is the number that answers the question.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile

Coconut yogurt is low in sucrose because the fermentation consumes part of the added sugar, and the fat dilutes the rest. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

A croissant carries sugar in the dough, but far less than a pastry - the richness comes from butter, not from sweetening. A pain au chocolat is a different answer.

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Fish sauce is anchovies and salt fermented for a year - there is no sugar in the traditional recipe, though some commercial versions add a little to soften the salt.

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Potatoes carry very little sucrose. Chips are on the scale because of the dextrose dip used to even out the frying colour - and dextrose is glucose, which needs no sucrase.

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Gluten-free bread often carries more sugar than wheat bread, because sugar helps the substitute starches brown and hold moisture. It is one of the places where removing one thing adds another.

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Oat cream is low in sucrose because oat sugars are maltose and glucose from the starch, not sucrose. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Oyster sauce is sweetened - sugar is what gives it the glossy, syrupy body that distinguishes it from soy sauce. It is used a spoonful at a time.

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Rice cream is low in sucrose because rice syrup sweetens it, and rice syrup is glucose and maltose rather than sucrose. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Soy cream is low in sucrose because the soybean carries little sucrose and the cream is mostly water and oil. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Soy yogurt is low in sucrose because the cultures eat part of the added sugar during fermentation. As with every made product on this axis, the recipe decides rather than the ingredient - an unsweetened version and a sweetened one are different foods here.

Tomato powder concentrates the fruit many times, and tomato carries a little sucrose among its sugars. It is used by the spoonful.

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Tomato sauce carries the tomato's own small sucrose share, and many jars add sugar to balance the acidity - which is why an own-brand passata and a premium jarred sauce can differ several-fold.

• USDA FoodData Central, the national nutrient database, queried for the sugar profile