The figure below gives a comprehensive list of the properties of glucose syrup as a function of the DE. Five of the more important points are discussed here. Browning reaction This is basically a condensation reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars, generally called non-enzymic browning or Maillard reaction. The reaction is enhanced by glucose […]
Glucose syrups possess a wide range of properties which are largely due to the diverse composition of these products. These are summarised in relation to DE in the figure below. As such they can be used to advantage in virtually all foods to control and contribute to the essential characteristics of that food. Their use […]
The viscosity of glucose syrup in relation to its solids content and temperature is an important factor when the product has to be pumped and stored, as heating may need to be provided for storage tanks and heavy duty pumps required to transfer the material. The viscosity of glucose syrup is directly related to its […]
Sweet foods and drink are consumed far in excess of their value in relieving hunger and thirst. As a species we like and demand the sweet taste or sensation and a large sector of the food industry is concerned solely with the production of foodstuffs to meet this need. Traditionally sucrose and later glucose syrups […]
Although specific rotation is a fundamental characteristic of a glucose syrup it has little relevance industrially except perhaps in the determination of complex mixture of sugars in foods (Pearson, 1976). When plane polarised light is passed through a glucose syrup solution the plane of polarization is rotated as a result of the optical activity of […]
When designing equipment for producing glucose syrups, e.g. evaporators or for handling foodstuffs it is important to be able to calculate the heat input necessary to raise the temperature of the product. This table shows typical values for 30,42,55 and 65 DE glucose syrups (Junk and Pancoast, 1973): Specific heat (cal/g (°C)) DE 26.7°C 48.9°C […]
Glucose syrups are all very soluble in water, the limiting factor being the viscosity of the solution, particularly with the lower DE materials. There is little difference in the overall solubility of different syrups but a significant difference in the rate at which the solid materials dissolve. This is of course particularly important for those […]
The Refractive Index (RI) of specific glucose syrup, as determined using a refractometer, is directly related to its dry solids content and is used as such for this purpose industrially to control evaporative processes. It is also used as a routine quality control acceptance technique for dry solids in syrup as it is infinitely quicker […]
Foods may contain high concentrations of individual sugars, e.g. jam and boiled sweets with a high sucrose content and where these high concentrations are found there is the risk of crystallization of that sugar. Traditionally in jam and boiled sweet manufacture a combination of heat and acid was used to control the inversion of the […]
Glucose syrups are essentially self-preserving and no preservatives need to be added to them to prevent microbial growth. This is due to the high dissolved solids content in the syrups effectively binding all the free water and thus generating a high osmotic pressure and low water activity. With no free water, microbial growth does not […]