Bulking Agents
With the growth in sugar reduced or low
sugar products, demand has increased for sugar replacers
and bulking agents.
Sugar is still a great product. As well as providing sweetness
and enhancing the flavour of many products, sugar provides
a stable filler to products such as chocolate, helps control
water activity in products such as jams and fruit concentrates,
depresses the freezing point in frozen products and has
a host of other roles.
However, the calorific content of
sucrose, along with its impact on glycaemic index and links
to obesity, mean that food technologists must sometimes
consider alternatives to sugar.
Bulking agents
can be classified into two broad groups:
nutritive and non
nutritive.
Non-Nutritive Bulking Agents
Non-nutritive bulking agents are usually carbohydrate-based
products that are only partially absorbed by the body.
Non-nutritive bulking agents tend to have varying degrees
of sweetness, and often need to be supplemented with high
intensity sweeteners.
Citrus Fibre
HERBAFOOD,
a division of Herbstreith & Fox,
also produces a range of fibres including Herbacel
AQ Plus citrus fibre. This
product has a high water holding capacity and will disperse
easily in cold water. Trials in HWL’s test kitchen
indicate that it can be used to provide a viscous mouth
feel to beverages and fruit products.
| HERBACEL AQ PLUS CITRUS FIBRE |
High viscosity fibre |
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