Which Beracha should a person recite before he eats plain sugar or sugar candies?
The Behag (work from the Geonic era whose authorship is uncertain; listen to audio for precise citation) writes that since sugar is produced from the sugar cane which grows on a tree, and these trees are planted for the purpose of producing sugar, it is no different from a fruit. As such, the Behag claims, sugar requires the Beracha recited over fruits – "Bore Peri Ha'etz." He then cites a different view claiming that one who eats sugar recites the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'adama." The Behag explains that according to this view, even though sugar cane grows on trees it cannot be said to be a "fruit" in the full sense of the term, and it is therefore "downgraded" to the lower-level Beracha of "Ha'adama."
The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), in Hilchot Berachot (8:5; listen to audio for precise citation), records both views before proceeding to present his own opinion, namely, that one who eats sugar recites the Beracha of "She'hakol." He explains that sugar produced from sugar cane is not a fruit at all, but rather a substance extracted from a fruit, and is thus comparable to the nectar extracted from dates, which require the Beracha of "She'hakol."
We thus find among the early authorities three views with regard to the Beracha one should recite over sugar: "Bore Peri Ha'etz," "Bore Peri Ha'adama," and "She'hakol."
The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 202:15; listen to audio for precise citation) rules that one who eats sugar should recite the Beracha of "She'hakol," due to the fundamental rule of "Safek Berachot Le'hakel." This rule establishes that one should never recite a Beracha if it is subject to doubt or controversy. In this case, then, where the authorities debate the question of which Beracha to recite, one should recite the generic Beracha of "She'hakol" which satisfies the obligation according to all opinions.
Indeed, the accepted practice is to recite "She'hakol" before eating plain sugar or sugar candies. However, since this issue is subject to debate, if one mistakenly recited "Bore Peri Ha'etz" or "Bore Peri Ha'adama" before eating sugar, he has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation and does not recite "She'hakol." Given that some opinions in fact require reciting "Ha'etz" or "Ha'adama" over sugar, in a case where one did recite one of those Berachot he may rely on those views and therefore should not recite the Beracha of "She'hakol." This is the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his work Birkat Hashem (vol. 3, p. 138).
Summary: One who eats plain sugar or a sugar candy recites the Beracha of "She'hakol"; however, if he mistakenly recited "Bore Peri Ha'adama" or "Bore Peri Ha'etz," he has fulfilled his obligation and does not then recite "She'hakol."
