Sweetening journey

Taste comes at a price. That is certainly true when it comes to sugar. Not that sugar costs that much in itself; it’s a cheap ingredient. The price is paid in health. That is why less is in high demand – less sugar, actually preferably no sugar at all. But you can’t just remove sugar from your products. The taste will be ruined, and the mouthfeel. Not to mention all the practical problems that would arise. So what can food and beverage producers do? To find the answer we will take a sweet journey. In six articles we will look at different alternatives to regular sugar.

Sweetened fibres – the sweet journey (part 6 of 6)

In the sixth and final article from our sweet journey – from sugar to sweetened fiber – we learn how dietary fiber, together with high-intensity sweet substances of natural origin, can replace 1:1 sugar without changing the manufacturing process.

The Sweetening Journey – from sugar to sweetened fibres (part 1 of 6)

Part 1 of our sweetening journey. How can the food and beverage industry reduce sugar? And what are they going to replace it with? In the first part of the sweetening journey, we investigate what sugar really is and then we take a closer look at alternative sugars such as glucose and fructose.

Sweet alcohols – The Sweetening Journey (part 2 of 6)

Our sweetening journey continues! In the second part, we take a closer look at sugar alcohols, such as maltitol and erythritol. What exactly are sugar alcohols and do they have any disadvantages?

Monster sugars — The Sweetening Journey (part 3 of 6)

In part 3 of the sweetening journey, we have come to the ‘monster sugars’. Here we find, among others, invert sugar, isoglucose and glucose syrup. These are sugar-like products that are rich in calories and have a high GI. From a health perspective, there are definitely better alternatives.

Chemically sweet – the sweet journey (part 4 of 6)

Regular sugar cannot be replaced with fructose, maltitol, glucose syrup and other bulk sweeteners if the calories are to be reduced. The solution is sweetener that gives a lot of sweetness for little or no calories. In the fourth of six articles from our sweet journey, we look at artificial sweeteners.

Sweet from nature – the sweet jouney (part 5 of 6)

To reduce sugar and calories, while maintaining good taste, sweeteners with a lot of sweetness and few or no calories are required. In the fifth of six articles about our sweetening journey, it’s time for sweeteners of natural origin.