Soft caramel

Similar anomalous distributions are observed in other thermal product mixtures. A commercial soft caramel made by heating sucrose and 0.1% acetic acid to 160°C contained 18% of a mixture of di-D-fructose dianhydrides.94 fi-D-Fru/-1,2 2,1 - 3-D-Fru/(now assigned as a-D-Fru/-l,2 2,l -a-D-Fru/83), ot-D-Fru/-1,2 2,1 -p-D-Fru/(5), ot-D-Frup-1,2 2,l -0-D-Fnjp (4), ot-D-Fru/-l,2 2,1 - 3-D-Frup (1), and p-D-Fru/-l,2 2,3 - 3-D-Fru/ (2) were found in the ratio 4 12 1 6 2. The first three of these, constituting 68% of the mixture, are considered to be kinetic products. The authors commented on this, but did not offer any explanation. Notice, however, that the preparation of such commercial caramels commences with heating of an acidic aqueous solution of sucrose, which almost certainly results in hydrolysis. Hence, the final dianhydrides are probably derived from the reaction of fructose, rather than sucrose. 

Table 6.34 Soft caramel/toffee for fillings and toppings3...

Fruit caramel Soft caramel Fats Puffed rice (w. binder)... 

Uses Emulsifier tor bread improvers, soft caramels, potato prods., margarine, ice cream, pasta coemulsifier, dispersant for personal care prods. emulsifier in o/w and w/o emulsions lubricant, binder, suspending agent, stabilizer, thickener for pharmaceuticals, paints/coatings lacquers... 

The sweet taste intensity of the starch hydrolysates depends on the degree of saccharification and ranges from 25-50% of that of sucrose. Table 19.7 provides data on some hydrolysis products. The wide range of starch syrups starts with those with a DE value of 10-20 (maltodex-trins) and ends with those with a DE value of 96. Starch syrups are used in sweet commodity products. They retard sucrose crystallization (hard caramel candies) and act as softening agents, as in soft caramel candies, fondants and chewing gum. They are also used in ice cream... 

Component Hard caramel Soft caramel Fondant Marzipan filler Marzipan... 

Bernard, J. Kowalczyk, J. Gelatin-free isomaltulose-containing soft caramels. U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. US 2005089618, 2005 Chem. Abstr. 2005, 142, 410200. 

Uses Emulsifier for bread improvers, soft caramels, baking goods, toffees, potato prods, ice cream, margarine, and pasta coemulsifier dispersant consistency regulator dietary food Regulatory USP/NF... 

Uses Fat containing an emulsifier for the prod, of soft caramels, toffees, and chewing sweets... 

Uses Food emulsifier used in white bread to prolong freshness, improve structure in baking cream to aid dispersion of fat in doughs and sponge mixes in soft caramels for foam reduction and increase in volume Regulatory EU E471, FAOA/VHO compliance... 

Caramel color can be made with either positively or negatively charged particles. This allows manufacturers to use negative colloidal caramel in acidic soft drinks, and positive colloidal caramel in beers and soy sauces. Beer has positively charged proteins suspended in it, and soy sauce has a high salt content that requires the more salt-tolerant positive caramel color. 

Caramel color is an emulsifying agent as well as a colorant. In soft drinks, it helps keep the flavor oils suspended in the solution. 

Royle, L. et al., A new method for the identification and quantification of class IV caramels using capillary electrophoresis and its application to soft drinks, J. Sci. Food Agric., 76, 579, 1998. 

Method development to determine levels of caramels in soft drinks. 

Numerous CE separations have been published for synthetic colours, sweeteners and preservatives (Frazier et al., 2000a Sadecka and Polonsky, 2000 Frazier et al., 2000b). A rapid CZE separation with diode array detection for six common synthetic food dyes in beverages, jellies and symps was described by Perez-Urquiza and Beltran (2000). Kuo et al. (1998) separated eight colours within 10 minutes using a pH 9.5 borax-NaOH buffer containing 5 mM /3-cyclodextrin. This latter method was suitable for separation of synthetic food colours in ice-cream bars and fmit soda drinks with very limited sample preparation. However the procedure was not validated for quantitative analysis. A review of natural colours and pigments analysis was made by Watanabe and Terabe (2000). Da Costa et al. (2000) reviewed the analysis of anthocyanin colours by CE and HPLC but concluded that the latter technique is more robust and applicable to complex sample types. Caramel type IV in soft drinks was identified and quantified by CE (Royle et al., 1998). 

There is a recent trend towards simultaneous CE separations of several classes of food additives. This has so far been applied to soft drinks and preserved fruits, but could also be used for other food products. An MEKC method was published (Lin et al., 2000) for simultaneous separation of intense sweeteners (dulcin, aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame K) and some preservatives (sorbic and benzoic acids, sodium dehydroacetate, methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and isopropyl- p-hydroxybenzoates) in preserved fruits. Ion pair extraction and SPE cleanup were used prior to CE analysis. The average recovery of these various additives was 90% with good within-laboratory reproducibility of results. Another procedure was described by Frazier et al. (2000b) for separation of intense sweeteners, preservatives and colours as well as caffeine and caramel in soft drinks. Using the MEKC mode, separation was obtained in 15 min. The aqueous phase was 20 mM carbonate buffer at pH 9.5 and the micellar phase was 62 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate. A diode array detector was used for quantification in the range 190-600 nm, and limits of quantification of 0.01 mg/1 per analyte were reported. The authors observed that their procedure requires further validation for quantitative analysis. 

The complexity of the mixtures made it impossible to define the chemical composition so the commercial preparations were divided into four groups (Table 8.2) on the basis of a series of sophisticated chemical assay procedures. Caramel colorants must be compatible with the food products in which they are used, which usually means the absence of flocculation and precipitation in the food. These undesirable effects result from charged macromolecular components of caramel which react with the food. Hence the net ionic charge of the caramel macromolecules at the pH of the intended food product is the prime determinant of compatibility. Caramel colorants are used in a variety of foods (Table 8.2) but over 80% of the caramel produced in the US is used to color soft drinks particularly colas and root beers. 

In addition, chloroxylenol 5%, terpineol 10%, absolute alcohol 20%, soft potassium soap 8.5%, and caramel 25% and lemon oil q.s. in a water base. 

Lemonade shandy is made with shandy ale , a bitter beer brewed to 6.5% ABV to minimise transport costs. For colouring the product it is important to use an ammonia caramel as the sulphite ammonia caramels used for conventional soft drinks will react with tannins in the beer and precipitate out. 

Carotene 160 Carotene (others)— report of sulfite ammonia caramel used widely in soft drinks like cola causing problems in extra sulfite sensitive people, particularly asthma patients. 160e and 160f are too new to have been tested... 

Primary usage of the four classes is in spirits and desserts, ice cream and liqueurs, beers and baked goods, and soft drinks, respectively. In the UK, Class III accounts for almost 70% of total caramel consumed, Classes IV and I contributing 25 and 5%, respectively. World-wide usage is very different, Class IV constituting 70%, Class III 28%, Class I 2%, and Class II1%. 

Aspartame (a-L-asparfyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) is widely used as an intense sweetener, particularly in diet soft drinks. In colas, Class IV caramel is the predominant ingredient, a typical concentration being 1400 ppm. Such a concentration has been shown to affect the stability of aspartame at the typical pH of 3.0-3.2.202 Thus, at 55 °C, about 90% of the aspartame in a simulated beverage (4 mM phosphate, pH 3.1) has been lost in 27 d by peptide hydrolysis, rearrangement, ester hydrolysis, and cyclisation to the diketopiperazine. The degradation of aspartame was not affected by 250 ppm caramel, but started at 700 ppm. 

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