Sugar Related Products

FOOD SCIENCE AND PROCESSING 3 (2+1)
Lesson 29 : Processing and Preparation of Sugar and Related Products

Sugar Related Products

  • D-Glucose
    It is a natural sugar commonly called as dextrose in confectionery industry. Honey and fruits also contain glucose. The source of glucose for commercial manufacture is starch.

  • D-fructose
    It is a hexose monosaccharide. It is a natural sugar. It is sweeter than sucrose. The richest sources are honey and ripe fruits. It is used in confectionery to provide sweetness, flavour and colour.

  • Dextrose syrup
    The manufacture of dextrose from starch is a multi-enzyme process.

  • Carbohydrate composition

    Glucose : 94 - 98 %
    Maltose : 1 - 3 %
    Saccharide : 1 - 2 %

  • Corn syrup
    It contains 75.0 % carbohydrate and 25.0 % water. Acid and high temperatures are applied to hydrolyse corn starch. The carbohydrate of the resulting product comprises from 10 - 36 % glucose and from 9 - 20 % maltose and the remainder consisting of higher sugars and dextrins. It inhibits crystallisation in foods. It is useful in baked products. It enhances citrus flavour in fruit products used in cola beverages. Dried corn syrup is also available and is used in dry beverage mixes, instant breakfast mixes, cereal bars and sauce mixes. Liquid glucose is used in chikkis (16 %) to get lighter colour and chewy taste.

  • High Fructose Corn syrup (HFCS)It is manufactured from high quality dextrose syrup by enzymatic isomerisation. It is sweeter than sucrose. HFCS inhibits crystallisation in foods. It is useful in baked products and in cooking. It enhances citrus flavour in fruit products used in cola beverages. HFCS is marketed in three types 42 percent, 55 percent and 90 percent fructose with the following composition. Fructose, 42-90 percent, glucose, 52-9 percent, other sugars, 6-1 percent. HFCS is superior to sugar that at a given concentration, its osmotic pressure is twice that of sucrose.

  • Table : Sugars and their characteristics and uses

    Type

    Characteristics

    Uses

    Castor

    Fine white crystals

    Bakery

    Granulated

    Crystals of medium size

    General sweetening agent

    Cube

    Crystals compressed to cubes.

    Tea service

    Icing

    Fine white powder with or without starch

    Cake icings

    Golden syrup

    Processed to a yellow syrup

    Cooking and baking confectionery

    Molasses

    Dark by-product of sugar

    Cooking and confectionery

    Diamond sugar

    Small rectangular crystals

    Used with beetle nuts,confectionery.

    Rock sugar

    Big slabs

    Used on festive occasions

    Brown sugar

    Contains molasses, glucose and fructose, pleasing and distinctive flavour.

    Baked products

    Sugar powder

    Pulverised granulated sugar

    Doughnuts, hard puris


  • Isomalt
    It is derived from beet sugar and is said to be similar to sugar in sweetness, taste, technological properties. Isomalt gives body and texture to foods unlike aspartame and saccharin.

  • Maltodextrins
    These are prepared from corn starch by controlled enzymatic hydrolysis. Functional properties are low hygroscopicity, bland flavour, extremely low sweetness, potential of retarding crystal formation in ice-creams. They can serve as fat substitute. Maltodextrins are useful in flavour encapsulation and prevention of oxidation of unstable compounds.

  • Molasses
    Molasses is the residue that remains after sucrose crystals have been removed from the concentrated juices of sugar cane or beet. It contains not more than 25 percent water and not more than 5 percent mineral ash.

    After the first crystallisation of sucrose, the molasses is high in sugar and light in colour. After the final process, a dark and bitter product with a relatively high mineral content, called black-strap molasses, remains.

  • Maple syrup
    It is high prized of all syrups used for culinary and table purposes. It is made by evaporation of the sap of the sugar maple to a concentration containing not more than 35 percent water.

  • Honey
    Honey contains about 17 percent water and 82.5 percent carbohydrate with small amounts of minerals and vitamins and enzymes. The carbohydrate portion of honey includes fructose (38 percent) glucose (31 percent), maltose (7 percent) and sucrose (2 percent).

    The colour of honey may vary from white to dark amber. The colour of fresh honey is related to its mineral content and is characteristic of its flowers- its source.

  • Jaggery
    Jaggery is malty obtained from sugar cane though it can also be prepared from palm, date palm and coconut.

    Cane is crushed and coarse suspended impurities from the juice are removed by straining and then the juice is boiled. Chemical clarificants are used to flocculate colloids present in the juice. After clarification, the cane juice is boiled vigorously to 115-177oC with constant stirring and then concentrated into thick, almost semisolid mass, which on cooling solidifies into jiggery.

    Generally good quality jaggery has a light colour, good flavour, hardness, crystalline structure and good keeping quality. It contains 65 to 85 percent sucrose, 10-15 percent invert sugar and 2.5% ash. Jaggery is peculiar to only Indian cookery. It does not easily crystallise because of invert sugar and it is very much preferred when non-crystalline candies are prepared. It is especially used when it is used as binder in the preparation of chikki (groundnut: jaggery in 1:1 proportion) and puffed rice balls. It is also used in making sweet pongal, payasam coffee and kozhukattai.

    Jaggery is preferred to sugar because it is rich in iron, gives colour, has a typical flavour, gives body or thickness and it is less expensive.

  • Caramel sugar
    The brown colour of caramels results chiefly from Maillard reaction. It is obtained from sugars when they are heated either dry or with certain additives or in concentrated solutions. Chemically caramel is polymeric in its character containing about 143 volatile and non-volatile compounds. It contains caramel, caramelen, caramelin methyl imidazole, furans fructose, glucose, alcohols, acids, aldehydes, esters, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide as breakdown products. It is used in brewing, vinegar making, blending of spirits like whisky, rum and wines as well as soft drinks. They are also used in biscuits, pickles, sauces and pastries. Caramel sugar can be prepared from soyabean, tapioca or sago. Caramel is a multi-purpose food additive contributing colour, flavour and sweetness to the product.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 10:17 AM