Chemistry and Functional Properties of Carbohydrates and Sugars (Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, and Polysaccharides) - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 22

table 2.1 relative Sweetness of Various Sugars and Sugar alcohols to

Sucrose

Sugar/Sugar alcohol relative Sweetness

Fructose 170

Invert sugar 130

Xylitol 85-120

Sucrose 100

Glucose 75

Maltitol 50-90

Sorbitol 50

Mannitol 40

Lactitol 30-40

Maltose 30

Galactose 30

Lactose 15

Source: Gaman, P. M. and Sherrington, K. B., The Science of Food. An
Introduction to Food Science, Nutrition and Microbiology , Pergamon,
Oxford, 1990; Emodi, A., Polyols: Chemistry and Application , AVI
Publishing, Westport, CT, 1982.

lactoseastheleastsweetsugar.Figure2.14showsacomparisonofcommonhexoseswithsucrose.
Onlyfructoseisabovethelinewhiledulcinisanoncarbohydratesweetener(Meyer1987;Penield
andCampbell1990).
Sucrose is used in many food product applications, either crystalline or as a reined aqueous
solutionknownasliquidsugar.Itcanalsobefoundassyrupinwhichsucroseispartlyinverted
toglucoseandfructose.Thesesyrupscanbepreparedwithahigherconcentrationofsolidssince
fructosehasaveryhighsolubility,andglucosedoesnotreadilycrystallize.Figure2.15showsthe
improvementinsolubilitywithincreasedinversionatvarioustemperatures.Itshouldbenotedthat
afteracertaincriticalconcentrationofinvertsugarisreached,thesolubilitydeclines.Thesweet-
nessoftheseinvertedsugarsiscomparabletosucrose(Meyer1987;BeMillerandWhistler1996).
Sucrose and most other low-molecular-weight carbohydrates (e.g., monosaccharides, alditols,
disaccharides, and low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides), because of their great hydrophilicity

25

Equality Glucose

Fructose

20

15

Galactose

Glycerol

Lactose

Mannitol

10

Dulcin

Glycine

5

0

(%)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Figure 2.14 Relative sweetness of various compounds compared to sucrose from data of Cameron and

Dahlberg. (Adapted from Cotton, R. H. et al., The Role of Sugar in the Food Industry . Copyright
1955, American Chemical Society.)