Syrups - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 161

Standard malt syrup is also available in diastolic and nondiastolic forms. The diastolic form
containsnaturalactivebarleyenzymesandisusedprimarilybybakersforcolorandotherfunction-
alities.Thenondiastolicmaltsyrupdoesnotcontainactiveenzymesandisusedasalavoringagent
orahumectantandtoimprovecolorandsweetness(EdneyandIzydorczyk2003;Bamforth1998).

6.8 LIQUID COrN SWeeteNerS

6.8.1 Corn Syrup

Cornsyrup,alsoknownasglucosesyrup,isacomplexsyrupmadefrommaizestarchthrough
enzymatic processing, which produces a sweet sugar compound containing varying amounts of
glucose,maltose,andotheroligosaccharides.Itcanbeusedtosoftentexture,addvolume,prevent
crystallization,andenhancethelavoroffoods.Finally,itisdistinctfromHFCS.Glucosesyrup
comes from liquid starch hydrolysis of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and higher saccharides
madefromcommonstarchessuchaswheat,rice,andpotatoes(LevensonandHartel2005).
Intheproductionofcornsyrup,2.3Lofcornyieldsapproximately950gofstarchtoproduce1 kg
ofglucosesyrup.Commercially,cornsyrupismainlyproducedbyenzymeα-amylaseadditiontoa
mixtureofcornstarchandwater.Thisenzymebreaksdownthecornstarchtooligosaccharides,which
arebrokendowntoglucosebytheglucoamylaseenzyme(γ-amylase).Then,theglucoseistransformed
tofructoseusingtheenzymeD-xyloseisomerase.Cornsyrup'sviscosityandsweetnessdependson
thehydrolysislevel,anditsgradeisratedaccordingtoDE.Incommercialfoods,cornsyrupisusedas
athickener,sweetener,andhumectant(maintainsfreshness)(KearsleyandDziedzic1995).
Duetotheincreaseinthepriceofcanesugar,cornsyrupandHFCSarelessexpensivealterna-
tivesthatareusedtoproducefoods,candiedfruit,andbeverages.Glucosesyrupusagewaslater
expandedtoavariantofHFCSinwhichotherenzymesareusedtoconvertsomeglucosetofructose.

6.8.2 high-Fructose Corn Syrup

HFCSismadefromcornstarchthatdoesnotcontainartiicialorsyntheticingredients.HFCS
isnearlyidenticalincompositiontotablesugar,containingapproximately50%glucoseand50%
fructose,andhasthesamenumberofcalories.USDAdatashowtheU.S.consumptionofHFCS
is lately on the decline even though obesity and diabetes continue to rise as in other continents
(Europe,SouthAmerica,andAustralia).
Glucose syrup mainly consists of glucose and isused asanonsweet thickener.HFCS ispre-
dominatelymadeoffructoseandisusedasasweetener(Tsai2005).
HFCSplaysakeyroleintheintegrityandfunctionalityofthefollowingproducts:

• Baked goods. HFCSgivesapleasingbrowncrusttobreadsandcakes,contributestothefermenta-

tionprocessingofraisedproducts,reducessugarcrystallizationduringbakingforsoft,moisttex-
tures,andenhancesthelavoroffruitillings.

• Yogurt. HFCSprovidesfermentablesugarsthatenhancefruitandspicelavors,controlmoistureto

preventseparation,andregulatetartness.

• Canned and frozen fruits. HFCSprotectstheirmtextureofcannedfruitsandreducesfreezerburn

infrozenfruits.

• Sauces, salad dressings, ketchups, and other condiments. HFCSenhanceslavorandbalancesvari-

ablessuchastartnessandacidityoftomatoes.

• Beverages. HFCSprovidesgreaterstabilityinacidiccarbonatedsodasthansucrose,sothelavor

remainsconsistentandstableovertheentireshelflifeoftheproduct.

TheabsorptionandmetabolismofHFCSissimilartothatofsugar(sucrose)asindicatedby
Schorin (2005). HFCS was introduced into the food supply of North America in 1968, but its