Sugar confectionery

Ca.ndy. Its low melting point and sugar inversion properties make malic acid a desirable acidulant, especially in hard candy products (44,45). Due to their insolubiUty, hard water salts can cause clouding of the finished product. However, because of the higher solubiUty of calcium malate [17482-42-7] relative to alternative acidulants, clarity of the finished product is enhanced. Additionally, in sugar confectionery products where acidulation may exceed 2.0%, malic acid can provide economic benefits. 

Colors that have restricted applications (e.g., E 173 may be used for external coating of sugar confectionery and for decoration of cakes and pastries quantum satis)... 

Pectins are important sugar-based hydrocolloids used in the confectionery industry. In US the sugar confectionery industry is growing approximately 3% per year and the consmnption has increased to approximately 11 Ib. per capita [1]. Pectin s are widely used in jelly confections often produced using fruit flavors. Pectin gels are characterized by providing a very tender, short texture with excellent clarity and outstanding flavor release properties. 

An emulsion is a dispersed system of two immiscible phases. Emulsions are present in several food systems. In general, the disperse phase in an emulsion is normally in globules 0.1-10 microns in diameter. Emulsions are commonly classed as either oil in water (O/W) or water in oil (W/O). In sugar confectionery, O/W emulsions are most usually encountered, or perhaps more accurately, oil in sugar syrup. One of the most important properties of an emulsion is its stability, normally referred to as its emulsion stability. Emulsions normally break by one of three processes creaming (or sedimentation), flocculation or droplet coalescence. Creaming and sedimentation originate in density differences between the two phases. Emulsions often break by a mixture of the processes. The time it takes for an emulsion to break can vary from seconds to years. Emulsions are not normally inherently stable since they are not a thermodynamic state of matter. A stable emulsion normally needs some material to make the emulsion stable. Food law complicates this issue since various substances are listed as emulsifiers and stabilisers. Unfortunately, some natural substances that are extremely effective as emulsifiers in practice are not emulsifiers in law. An examination of those materials that do stabilise emulsions allows them to be classified as follows ... 

From R Lees and B Jackson, Sugar Confectionery and Chocolate Manufacture, Leonard Hill, Glasgow (1973)... 

By Stephen T. Beckett The Science of Sugar Confectionery By W.P. Edwards Colour Chemistry... 

Unlike chocolate confectionery, sugar confectionery is free of legal definitions. Terms such as pastille or lozenge although they have an understood meaning, at least to those in the trade, are sometimes applied to products that are not strictly within that understood meaning, e.g. there are products that are sold as pastilles but which are, in fact, boiled sweets. Butterscotch must contain butter, but gums do not have to contain any gum. 

There are several aspects of science which are fundamental to sugar confectionery. They are discussed here. 

Sugar confectionery products keep well compared with most other food products. Their long life ensues because spoilage organisms cannot grow, and the reason that they cannot grow is because the moisture content is too low. 

In sugar confectionery the pH of the product is important for a number of reasons. Fruit-flavoured products normally have some acid component added to complement the fruit flavour. Where a hydrocolloid is present the pH of the product can be critical otherwise the product will not be stable or it may not gel at all. If a hydrocolloid is held at its... 

Fats are chemically triglycerides and can be regarded as the esters produced by the reaction of fatty acids with the trihydric alcohol glycerol. In practice, oils and fats are the product of biosynthesis. Some sugar confectionery contains oils or fats whereas other products, e.g. boiled sweets, are essentially fat-free. The traditional fat used in sugar confectionery is milk fat, either in the form of butter, cream, whole milk powder or condensed milk. Milk fat can only be altered by fractionating it. and while this is perfectly possible technically, there must be sufficient commercial and technical benefits to make it worthwhile. One problem with fractionation operations is that both the desirable and the undesirable fractions have to be used. 

Table 3.3 Forms of sugar commonly used in sugar confectionery...

It is possible to take the process to completion to produce pure dextrose. This material obviously has a DE of 100. The commonest type of glucose syrup in sugar confectionery is 42 DE (or similar). This material is even referred to as confectioner s glucose. Other grades of glucose syrup are used in sugar confectionery, such as products of 68 DE or equivalent, which have the same water activity as invert sugar syrup and so can often be used as a direct replacement. 

Lactose is normally encountered as a component of any skim milk that is used in sugar confectionery but small quantities of crystalline lactose are also sometimes used in confectionery-making. If a product is made using too much lactose then a metallic taste appears, although the amount of lactose that can be consumed without this happening varies between individuals. 

Whey is the by-product of cheese-making. The traditional form of whey in confectionery is whey powder, which has been used as an ingredient in some toffees. Apart from this example, whey has not been much used in sugar confectionery. The reasons for this are hard to see, except that in toffees the flavours imparted by whey are not that pleasant. As the major ingredient is lactose this places another restriction on its use - lactose has its limited solubility compared with other sugars, when used to excess it imparts the unpleasant metallic taste, and it is not tolerated in the diets of certain consumers. 

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