Food additives data book - wordpres

Sweeteners 938
NAME: Isomalt
CATEGORY: Sweetener/ Nutritive additive/ Flavour modifier/ Bulking agent
FOOD USE: Baked goods/ Soft drinks/ Sugars, sugar preserves and confectionery (confectionery, coatings for hardboiled
and chewable candies, soft caramels, soft candies)/ Other (chewing gums)
SYNONYMS: Hydrogenated isomaltulose/ Hydrogenated palatinose
MOLECULAR MASS: 368
PROPERTIES AND APPEARANCE: White, odourless crystals. Pleasant sweet taste (sweetness intensity 0.45 compared to sucrose); no
aftertaste. Available in crystalline form.
MELTING RANGE IN °C: 145–150
SOLUBILITY % AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURE/pH COMBINATIONS:
in water: @ 20°C 25
FUNCTION IN FOODS: Bulking agent: adds texture and mouthfeel properties. Sweetening agent: functionally similar to
sucrose, sweetness intensity of 0.45 compared to sucrose.
Enhances shelf-life of hygroscopic products; increases chemical stability; increases affinity for water
without altering sweetening power; reduces tendency to crystallise.
Use in baking: reduces fermentability; increases resistance to non-enzymic browning reactions;
decreases tendency to crystallise; increases hygroscopicity
ALTERNATIVES: Sucrose; other polyols
TECHNOLOGY OF USE IN FOODS:
Solubility in water is a function of temperature. 25% solubility at 25°C and 55% solubility at 60°C. Solubility decreases linearly with the addition of alcohol.
Highly stable against chemical and microbial breakdown; has no Maillard reaction so does not require browning inhibitors.
Changes colour slightly when held at 170°C for 60 minutes, but no further colour changes, unlike sucrose solutions.
Viscosity in aqueous solution comparable to sucrose solutions.
Less sweet than sugar, so require intense sweeteners as supplements to bring to equivalence with sucrose.