ABSTRACT
CONTENTS Sweeteners Utilized by the Food Industry ................................... 170 Sweetener Performance Characteristics and Functionality ......... 170
Carbohydrate Profile and Dextrose Equivalence ................ 172 pH and Titratable Acidity ............................................... 173
Conductivity .......................................................................... 175 Solids ...................................................................................... 175
Sweetener Attributes ....................................................................... 179 Sweetness ............................................................................... 179 Solubility ................................................................................ 181
Ingredient Interactions ................................................................... 183 Proteins ................................................................................... 183 Impact on Gelatinization: Interaction with Starch ............. 186 Interaction with Fats and Oils .............................................. 187 Trace Mineral Interactions .................................................... 188
Sweetener: Sweetener Interactions ................................................ 188 Freezing-Point Depression and Boiling-Point Elevation ..... 189
Inversion .......................................................................................... 191 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 192 References ........................................................................................ 193
Sweeteners are one of the food industry’s most versatile and cost-effective ingredients. They are used for some of the following reasons:
• To manage a food’s sweetness for taste and pleasure • To preserve and increase shelf life • To provide easily metabolized energy • To help the body absorb water • To manage a product’s texture • To contribute to a product’s overall flavor character • To provide a cost-effective source of bulking solids and ferment-
able carbohydrates • To affect a product’s finished appearance • To be solidified into amorphous or crystalline products • To affect a product’s freezing and boiling point • To mask the bitter taste of vitamins, minerals, and medicines • To act as a processing aid
But what is a sweetener? Is it defined by taste or functionality? According to the New World Dictionary, a sweetener is “a sweetening agent, esp. a synthetic substance, such as saccharine, calcium cyclamate etc.1,” clearly a definition based upon taste. From a more practical perspective, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines sweeteners in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Table 6.1 lists the locations for CFR standards of identity for many of the sweetener products used in the United States.
