The Roles of Maltitol in Baking

In recent years, consumers have increasingly demanded reduced sugar or even zero sugar and zero calories. Baked products have always had an established impression of being high in sugar, fat and calories. This trend has naturally been involved in the baking industry. People want to be healthier while eating delicious sweets. But compared to other foods, sugar provides multiple functional roles in baking besides sweetness. Therefore, it is very difficult for baked goods to maintain their original texture and flavor while reducing sugar.

As the main bulk sweetener, sugar alcohols play an important role in sugar substitutes in baked goods. Their unique characteristics make it possible to reduce the use of sugar while ensuring the quality of baked goods. Among them, maltitol has the closest application properties to sucrose in baking, and is cost-effective and widely used in baked goods. Maltitol is a disaccharide alcohol, and its physical and chemical properties such as molecular weight and solubility are also close to those of sucrose.

Characteristics and uses of maltitol

The sweetness is 0.8-0.9 times that of sucrose, and the sweetness characteristics are close to sucrose.

The calories are 60% of sucrose, and it is a low-GI raw material. It is most widely used in sugar-free fillings and sugar-free mooncakes.

The viscosity is 2 times greater than xylitol and sorbitol, and is suitable for making sticky foods, such as various dessert fillings, egg yolk crisps, etc. The freezing temperature and osmotic pressure are also comparable to sucrose.

Stability. Maltitol has good heat resistance and will not cause Maillard reaction when heated together with amino acids and proteins, and is relatively stable to acidic conditions.

Non-fermentable. Maltitol is not used by most bacteria and does not produce acid in the oral cavity, which can effectively prevent dental caries; it can also extend the shelf life of food.

Metabolic properties. Maltitol is basically not absorbed by the human body and does not increase blood sugar levels after consumption. It is suitable for people with diabetes.

Moisturizing properties. Compared with glycerin and sorbitol, liquid maltitol absorbs and releases moisture smoothly and has superior moisturizing properties.

The role of maltitol in the diet is not only to have low calories, but also to inhibit the storage of fat in the human body when eaten with high-fat foods.

Maltitol is derived from the hydrolysis and hydrogenation of corn starch. It comes in two forms, one is maltitol crystals, and the other is maltitol syrup which is a colorless viscous liquid. As a food additive, maltitol is allowed to be used in cold drinks, pastries, juices, biscuits, bread, pickles, and candies. The dosage can be determined according to production needs. Be aware that excessive intake of maltitol can cause gastrointestinal discomfort or diarrhea. The diarrhea-causing properties of various sugar alcohols are different. The diarrhea-causing threshold of maltitol is much larger than that of xylitol and sorbitol. For maltitol, 100 grams per person per day will not cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

Maltitol's good taste, low calories, and high sweetness compared to most other sugar alcohols make it widely used. It is believed that with the requirements for low-calorie and low-fat products, the demand for maltitol will become wider and wider.