Sugar sans sweetness - lactisole

Prepared Foods, May, 1995 by Fran LaBell

"As sweet as sugar." Seems like an automatic connection. But, if you take away the sweetness of sucrose, what remains? A multi-purpose functional ingredient that can be used to improve a myriad of food applications.

Domino Sugar Corp., New York, has joined several of its technologies to develop non-sweet sugar. The company has combined Lactisole[R], a patented sweetness inhibitor, with sucrose. Lactisole is present at levels of 1,250 ppm in sugar. The resulting material doesn't impart a sweet taste. The effect also can be extended to other nutritive and artificial sweeteners.

Non-sweet sugar is made by the co-crystallization process, which renders sugar into a small particle-size, free-flowing, non-dusting agglomerate. The sweetness inhibitor is incorporated into the particles, which feature a large surface area thanks to their sponge-like structure. As an added feature, the sweetness inhibitor acts as a flavor enhancer to many other flavors in food products.

The most obvious applications for non-sweet sugar are in products in which additional sugar would improve functionality, but would leave them tasting too sweet for most palates. Jams, jellies and fruit pie fillings require sugar for preservation purposes. In some cases, less sweetness would allow more nuances of the fruit flavors to come out clearly.

Confections with cream centers are based on sugar, but in some cases sweetness can be toned down. Sports drinks or energy boosting beverages rely on sucrose to supply calories. Now such drinks can supply a refreshing taste without too much sweetness.

In addition to its sweetness, sugar exhibits many food functionalities. It is a bulking agent that gives structure to baked goods. The viscosity and body of liquids is increased.

Sugar was one of the earliest preservatives, as the tradition of jam and jelly making attests. It controls water activity and it provides the humectancy that extends the shelf life of many baked goods. Sugar also depresses the freezing point of a liquid.

Taking advantage of its role as a bulking agent and viscosity builder, non-sweet sugar can serve as a fat replacer. It can replace a significant portion of the fat in frostings, icings and frozen desserts. The resulting textures are delicate, smooth and creamy.

Although cheese spreads and fillings are savory rather than sweet, non-sweet sugar can serve as a fat-reducing bulking agent and can also control water activity, rather than relying on salt. Now products can be offered in less salty flavors and perhaps with new flavor effects.

Lite or low-oil salad dressings may have a thin or watery texture. Non-sweet sugar adds bulk, viscosity and body to a lite dressing.

Thin layers of sugar caramelize and acquire sheen when heated. Non-sweet sugar could lend an attractive shine to cookies, crackers or snacks and pie crusts.

The quest continues for a microwave browning agent. This sugar caramelizes and improves the browning effect under microwave heating. For crackers, snacks or cereals, a thin, sprayed-on application of sugar acts as a binder to improve appearance and help seasonings adhere without oils or gums.

Domino has received approval for 18 additional food applications, bringing the total to more than 22, from baked goods and snack foods to confectionery products. Lactisole, the sweetness inhibitor, is classified as GRAS by FEMA. It should be labeled as artificial flavor in the ingredient statement.

Levels of concentration in the finished products have been established after extensive research and study. In general, the usage levels of Lactisole are between 50 to 150 ppm.

Now that the word sugar has some different connotations, food product developers can use its many functionalities to the fullest. In a competitive environment in which taste is a defining factor, developers can enjoy greater flexibility in optimizing flavor effects at the same time.