Title: Alternative Sweeteners

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Crystalline Fructose
John S. White
White Technical Research Group, Argenta, Illinois
Thomas F. Osberger
Food Industry Consultant, Upland, California
I. INTRODUCTION
Crystalline fructose first became widely available for industrial food and pharmaceutical
applications nearly 25 years ago. It is physically and functionally distinct
from other carbohydrates in solubility, freezing point depression, boiling point
elevation, water activity, osmotic pressure, Maillard browning and flavor development,
flavor enhancement, starch synergy, and metabolism. Most important
are its high relative sweetness, unique sweetness intensity profile, and synergy
with other sweeteners.
Students of organic chemistry learn very early that sucrose is a disaccharide
that can be readily hydrolyzed (inverted) to provide equimolar amounts of two
monosaccharides, fructose and dextrose. Although it would seem simple to obtain
both fructose and dextrose from the inversion of sucrose, it was only in the mid-
1970s that sucrochemical advances enabled commercial quantities of pure fructose
to become available in the United States.
It was certainly not the case that food scientists and members of the medical
profession were unaware of the increased sweetening power and unique metabolic
properties of pure fructose. However, it made little sense to expend research
resources to formulate foods and diets that used crystalline fructose without assurance
that bulk industrial quantities (i.e., truckloads and railcars) would be available.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the convergence of a plentiful raw
material, proven refining technologies, economies of scale, and reduced prices
that ensured the integration of crystalline fructose into mainstream food and beverage
applications.
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