An article series about the origin of ingredients that may be considered to create sweetened fiber.
Stevia is a herb that grows wild in Paraguay’s rainforest, but is also cultivated for its sweet taste. The substances that give the sweetness — steviol glycosides — are extracted with a process that is similar to how sugar is extracted from sugar beets. Although it is 300 times sweeter than sugar, it has zero calories. A dream for food producers. Well … The intense sweetness is also a challenge. How could one kilo of sugar be replaced by three grams of steviol glycosides? That is solved by Eureba that replace sugar one-to-one. Read about stevia’s journey from seed to Eureba.
Chicory is a popular plant among growers. The substance inulin makes the plant hardy when the climate is harshest. Inulin is used extensively as a dietary fibre in the food industry. The fibre mainly gives bulk, but can also contribute with some sweetness. Inulin works best with other ingredients – like Bayn Solutions’ sweetened fibres. Curious? Read on!
In nature we find the polyol erythritol in grapes, pears and melons, but also in fermented foods such as wine, cheese and beer. With 70 percent of the sweetness of sugar, but with no calories and no effect on blood sugar, erythritol is an interesting ingredient in sugar reduction. But as erythritol occurs in such small quantities in nature, it is manufactured – from wheat and yeasts.
Isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) are found naturally in many foods, but may also be added to some products as bulk and to give sweetness. IMO itself is a dietary fibre, but is sold as syrup or powder which also contains sugars and other energy-giving carbohydrates. Despite this, IMO may be of use in sugar reduction. Let’s learn more about IMO’s path from the cassava root to sweetened fibres.
En affordable, popular sugar alcohol with soft sweetness that performs well in chocolate, among other things. Maltitol is the most sucrose-like of all sugar alcohols, and also one of the most widely used in food production. But what about the aftertaste that so many sweeteners have? No problem with maltitol. So pick up some chocolate and read more about the sugar alcohol that comes from malted cereal.
Every time you bake bread, you make dextrin. It happens in the crusts of the bread; the starch is converted by the heat to dextrin. There are different types of dextrin. Some break down into glucose during digestion. Others are dietary fibre. The latter we use in some of our sweetened fibres (Eureba). They are produced from GMO-free maize. Read about dextrin’s journey from corn to sweetened fibres.
Sorbitol is found naturally in fruits and berries, but is produced industrially from wheat, for example. Thus, one of the world’s most common crops becomes one of the world’s most common sweeteners. Read the article and find out how!
With an ability to provide the same volume and consistency as sugar – with 75 per cent fewer calories and almost no effect on blood sugar levels – polydextrose is like a miracle ingredient that makes the bun light and juicy. The tasteless dietary fibre has barely noticeable sweetness, but many other properties in common with sugar (and fat). Polydextrose is produced from the naturally occurring substances glucose, sorbitol and citric acid. In practice, production starts with wheat or other starch-rich crops. But how it is done? We will tell.
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