Caramel/caramelization

Carmel 150 Caramel Caramel 150, according to possible chemical... 

Liquorice is a slightly unusual example of a starch gel instead of separating the starch, wheat flour is used directly. It is also a product where brown sugars and treacle are used. Liquorice paste is typically made from treacle, wheat flour, liquorice extract and caramel. Caramel in this context means the brown colour produced from sugar and not a form of toffee. Industrial caramel is made by the action of ammonium hydroxide on a carbohydrate, typically glucose syrup. The resulting product is not well defined chemically, and for this reason its use is recommended to be limited to 0.2% maximum. 

Other colourants in use are sunset yellow (Eiio), another synthetic azo dye, and caramel. Caramel colours are manufactured from sugars and are very widely used. This food colour has caused some concern due to effects in experimental animals, for example the reduction in the number of white blood cells in rats. This may be due to the effects of contaminants at the high doses given which may be enhanced by a reduced intake of vitamin B6 in the diet. Annatto and beta carotene are naturally occurring colourants, but in one study 26 per cent of patients with chronic urticaria were shown to react to annatto. 

The WHO/FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives - distinguishes three general kinds of caramel ( / caramel color plain, (2) caramel color, ammonia process, and (3) caramel color, ammonium sulfite process. Both the European Technical Caramel Association (EUTECA) and the International Technical Caramel Association (ITCA) have standardized the properties of four classes and ten types of caramels they are given in Table I. The content of heavy metals cannot exceed values reported in the footnote to that Table. 

Common/vernacular names Burnt sugar coloring, caramel, caramel color. 

Caramel color has four classes, known as caramel colors L 11, III, and IV. End use, manufacturing process, physical and chemical properties differ among them, and the classes are primarily based on the use of ammonium compounds, sulfite compound or both types of reactants in their manufacture. However, the preparation of caramel colors I and II also requires the use of salts, alkalis, and food-grade acids. Having different colloidal characteristics, tinctorial strengths, and varying acidic pHs, each color has preferred uses as colorant that is reflected in their synonyms Caramel color I (spirit caramel) caramel color II (process caramel) caramel color III (beer caramel) and caramel color IV (soft-drink caramel). About 70% of all caramel color used worldwide is caramel color IV that is made using both ammonium and sulfite compounds as reactants. ... 

Sucrose is unstable at temperatures albO C (320T) and thermolyzes to the brown candy that we appreciate as caramel. Caramel contains a myriad of decomposition products formed by simultaneous cleavage of sucrose to glucose and fructose, dehydrations, fragmentations (such as retroaldol additions), isomerizations through enols (apply the last three reactions to glucose and see what you get), and polymerizations. Two of the odorants that have been identified in the mixture are shown below. 

Action of sodium hydroxide. Boil about 0 2 g. of glucose with 5 of 10% NaOH solution the mixture turns yellow, then brown, and emits the odour of caramel. Fructose, maltose, lactose and soluble starch behave similarly sucrose and ordinary starch do not give colorations. 

A flavor is tried at several different levels and in different mediums until the most characteristic one is selected. This is important because the character of a material is known to change quaUty with concentration and environment. For example, anethole, ben2aldehyde, and citral taste different with and without acid. Gamma-decalactone has different characters at different levels of use. -/ fZ-Butyl phenylacetate with acid is strawberry or fmity without acid it is creamy milk chocolate. 2,5-Dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3-(2Fi)-furanone with acid is strawberry without acid it is caramel or meat. 

Gandy. Chocolate is subject to flavor or microbiological change. Inclusions such as nuts and fillings such as caramel are susceptible to water gain or loss. Chocolates, which are stable, are packaged in greaseproof papers and moisture/fat barriers such as polypropylene film (see Chocolate and cocoa). 

Gandy. In confections (1% lecithin) made with oil or fat, lecithin emulsifies and distributes fat ia caramels, nut britties, nougats, etc it also prevents fat separation and gteasiaess. It has a fixative action for flavors (35) (see Flavors and spices). Also, lecithin is an emulsifier and conditioning agent for chewing gum base. 

A wide variety of special malts are produced which impart different flavor characteristics to beers. These malts are made from green (malt that has not been dried) or finished malts by roasting at elevated temperatures or by adjusting temperature profiles during kilning. A partial Hst of specialty malts includes standard malts, ie, standard brewers, lager, ale, Vienna, and wheat caramelized malts, ie, Munich, caramel, and dextrine and roasted products, ie, amber, chocolate, black, and roasted barley. 

Molasses is shipped in dmms, barrels, tank tmcks, tank cars, barges, and sea vessels. Because of high viscosity, molasses must be heated in some situations to facilitate pumping. However, prolonged heating must be avoided to prevent caramelization. 

Food apphcations utilize first and second molasses in baking (bread, cakes, cookies) for the molasses flavor. Molasses is also used in curing of tobacco and meats, in confections such as toffees and caramels, and in baked beans and glazes. 

Confections. Main appHcations are sugared almonds, caramel, nougat, and sweets. For sugared almonds and caramel, vanillin is mixed into the sugar in the dry phase of the recipe. For nougat. Vanillin is added during the Hquid phase of manufacturing. In sweets, vanillin is added in the form of a 10% ethanol solution. 

Stout. Stout is a very dark beer with a sweet, slightly burned taste and a strong malt flavor. It is heavier than porter and is strongly, hopped. It contains 6.3—8.3% by vol alcohol. Storage time is about six months and fermentation usually occurs in the bottie. Dry and sweet stouts ate brewed using different amounts of black malt, caramel malt, and hops (6). 

Amber or gold mms can be matured in wood barrels three years, though the color in gold mms should not necessarily imply that it was derived from aging. Often the color is achieved by adding caramel color to the product. They are more flavorful than light mm. 

Full-bodied mms are akowed to ferment from 12 to 20 days, often relying on natural or wild fermentation in which the mash is inoculated by the yeast present in the air and starting materials. These mms are twice-distiked in pot stiks to 140—160° proof. Full-bodied mms are often aged from five to seven years in oakbarrels. Caramel color can also be added to give them a darker color. They are produced in Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad, and Guyana. 

Colorants. Colorants are used ia beverages to provide additioaal seasory appeal. Carboaated beverage may coataia some aatural color from the use of aatural flavors or juices but geaerally require additioaal colorants such as caramel or other artificial colors (see Colorants for food, drugs, and COSLffiTICS). 

Conching temperatures range from 55—85°C for sweet chocolate and from 45—55°C for milk chocolate. Higher temperatures are used for milk chocolate if caramel or butterscotch flavors are desired (24). 

Exempt colorants are made up of a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds representing the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. Some, like -carotene and 2inc oxide, are essentially pure factory-produced chemicals of definite and known composition. Others, including annatto extract, cochineal extract, caramel, and beet powder are mixtures obtained from natural sources and have somewhat indefinite compositions. 

Caramel. Officially, the color additive caramel is the dark brown Hquid or soHd material resulting from the carefully controlled heat treatment of the following food-grade carbohydrates dextrose, invert sugar, lactose, malt symp, molasses, starch hydrolysates and fractions thereof, or sucrose. Practically speaking, caramel is burned sugar. 

To prepare caramel, com symp and the appropriate reactants are cooked at about 121°C for several hours or until the proper tinctorial power has been obtained. The product is then filtered and stored cool to minimise further caramelization. Often it is dmm- or spray-dried to produce free-flowing powders containing 5% or less moisture (61,62). 

Shades that can be produced using caramel colorants range from deHcate yeUows to reds to the darkest browns. 

R. T. Tinner, "Caramel Coloring— Production, Composition, and Functionahty," Faker s Digest, Apr. 1965. 

R. North, "Add a Pkich of Burnt Sugar for Color," CannerPacker, May 1969. A description of caramel and how it is made and used. 

W. R. Eichenberger, Caramel Colors Manufacture, Properties, and Food Applications, paper presented at the ACS Meeting, Aug. 29, 1972. 

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