Nowadays, the confectionery market is beginning to extend to the product transformation using new low-sugar and low-calorie sugar base as raw materials. However, not all low-calorie and low-sugar sugar bases can replace sucrose for the production of candies. The new raw materials used must be able to replace sucrose from the perspectives of taste and physicochemistry, and must also be beneficial to human health. Erythritol fit the bill perfectly, with the same taste as sucrose, without the need for additional strong sweeteners like aspartame or saccharin. Candies made with erythritol taste cooler than other "non-sucrose" candies. And the joint use of erythritol and other sugar alcohols can increase the tolerance to reduce the risk of unilateral use. It is best to use high-purity erythritol crystalline powder in candies, so that better quality and taste can be obtained.
1. Hard and soft candies
Erythritol can produce all kinds of candies with good quality, and the texture and shelf life of the products are exactly the same as traditional products. Since erythritol is easy to crush and does not absorb moisture, the prepared various candies still have good storage stability even under high humidity storage conditions. At the same time, it is very beneficial to the health of the teeth and will not cause dental caries.
2. Chewing gum
Chewing gum is made by mixing fine crystals of sugar and edible gum. Erythritol is easy to pulverize and has low hygroscopicity, which is suitable as a sweetener for chewing gum. Moreover, this chewing gum has a cool mouth, low calorie, and non-cariogenic properties, and can be used to make "tooth-friendly" chewing gum. Most low-sugar chewing gum products will gradually harden and become brittle over time. If some low-sugar raw materials are replaced with alcohol and erythritol, a longer shelf life will be obtained, and the chewing gum will have good elasticity and softness. In chewing gum coatings, the best coatings are generally 40% erythritol in combination with other hydroxyl compounds such as sorbitol and maltitol. Not only can it obtain high moisture absorption resistance and cool taste, but it also has better chewiness and support than xylitol. At the same time, coating with erythritol can shorten the crystallization time by 30%.
3. Chocolate
Erythritol has the characteristics of good thermal stability and low hygroscopicity, and can be operated in an environment above 80°C to shorten the processing time. At the same time, since the heating temperature in the chocolate production process using erythritol is higher than that of the traditional one, it is beneficial to promote the production of flavor. Erythritol can easily replace sucrose in the product and reduce the energy of chocolate by 34%. No other sugar alcohol can provide such energy-reducing values while imparting cool-tasting and non-cariogenic characteristics to the product. Due to its low hygroscopicity, erythritol helps to overcome the blooming phenomenon of other sugars when making chocolate.