Chewy+Confection+by+Shen

Activity: Chewy Confection By, Tey Yi Shen http://foodingredients.wikispaces.com/ACTIVITY

1.How do you describe the texture of jelly worm, caramels, and nougat? They can be considered as chewy confection, which give us the feeling of elasticity and viscosity when we chew them.

2.Apart from sucrose, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are common sweeteners in chewy confections. Apart from providing sweetness, what are the functions of the syrups? They affect crystallization, degree of chewiness, humecancy, testure(softness), caramelization, color,viscosity, and facilitate aeration.

3.Corn syrup with DE of 42 or 63 is commonly used in chewy caramel formulation. What is DE stand for? How the use of corn syrup with different DE (in this case 42 and 63) impact the physical and textural properties of chewy confections? DE stands for Dextrose Equivalent. Dextrose Equivalent is the percent of reducing sugars in a material, expressed as dextrose. Higher DE provides sweeter, softer product and, darker (if contain protein ingredient )product. 42 DE corn syrup offers better control against crystallization, whereas 63 DE corn syrup, with a higher percentage of reducing sugars, offers better protection from drying out. Besides, different DE, meaning different amount of reducing sugar, affects Maillard Reaction. Only reducing sugar will react with protein in this reaction, enabling caramel color and flavor to develop. In milk ingredient case, milk react with reducing sugar, thus by using higher DE corn syrup, darker and more caramel flavor product can be produce. In the case of nougats, high conversion (63 DE) corn syrup, invert sugar or honey may be included to help lower the viscosity of the mixture and facilitate aeration.

4.Crystallization of sugar is undesirable in chewy, non-grained confections. How crystallization of sugar can be inhibited? Crystallization can be avoided by regulating the ratios of corn syrup and sugar. To produce non-grain confectionary, we need to inhibit crystallization. This can be done by using higher ratio of corn syrup to sucrose, where sucrose crystallization will be inhibited. For example, gummy candies usually have a ratio of 60% corn syrup to 40% sucrose. Manufacture should try to use higher DE corn syrup to inhibit crystallization. This is due to low DE(less reducing sugar), provide less chances for food product to dries out.

5. What is sugar alcohols? Why they are widely used in sugar-free confections? Give examples of sugar alcohol (other than sorbitol). A sugar alcohol is a hydrogenated form of carbohydrate whose carbonyl group (reducing sugar) has been reduced to a primary or secondary [|hydroxyl group] (hence the alcohol). They are always used as artificial sweetener. For examples, [|mannitol], [|erythritol], [|xylitol], [|lactitol] and [|maltitol]. Xylitol is one of the most popular artificial sweetener. As a group, sugar alcohols are not as sweet as [|sucrose], and they contain fewer calories than sucrose. Their flavor is like sucrose, and they can be used to mask the unpleasant [|aftertastes] of some high intensity [|sweeteners]. Sugar alcohols are not metabolized by oral bacteria, and so they do not contribute to [|tooth decay]. They do not brown or [|caramelize] when heated. They also provide cooling sensation. Sugar alcohols are usually incompletely absorbed into the blood stream from the [|small intestines] which generally results in a smaller change in [|blood glucose] than "regular" sugar ([|sucrose]). This property makes them popular sweeteners among [|diabetics].

6. Gummy candies typically contain 175 to 250 bloom gelatin. What is the meaning of "bloom"? A measure of the gel strength of gelatin, reflecting the average molecular weight of its constituents. The higher the Bloom number the stiffer the gelatin and, in general, the more expensive it will be. The value for Bloom (also called gel or jelly strength) is obtained by measuring the weight required for a standard probe to penetrate a 12.5% glue solution. The mass needed to penetrate 4mm determines its rigidity and is measured in grams.

7.In gummy candies (such as gummy bear or jelly worm), gelatins Type A are favored over gelatins Type B. Why? Type A gelatin is derived from pig whereas type is from calf or beef. From the article, Type A has an isoelectric point around pH 7 to 9(acidic), while Type B has an isoelectric point about 4.7 to 5.0(alkaline). Gummy which are formed at the pH different from gelatin isoelectric point will be clear and sparkling, Since some gelatin is extracted from bone, it contains calcium. Cloudiness due to the presence of insoluble calcium sulfate-phosphate complex is more likely to be found in ossein gelatins.

8.When gelatin is used in the formulation, what are the precautions that need to be taken to achieve the gel strength required? High process temperatures and low pH can adversely affect gelatin strength. Adding a buffer prior to cooking or to the acid solution will raise the pH without affecting sourness, thus minimizing the loss of gel strength. (still on the way understanding this sentence..) Meaning, buffer need to be added into the mixture to avoid interruption of gel strength.

9.What are the functions of starch molds normally used in the processing of jelly candies? This method greatly reduces the number of molds that must be manufactured. Cost can be minimize, as manufacture needless to wash the instrument(mold) and the starch mold can be reused.

10.Apart from gelatin, what other gums can be used to modify the texture of gummy jellies? Other gums such as starch, pectin, agar, or gellan.

11.What are the function of milk proteins in caramel? Maillard reaction is the reaction between reducing sugar and protein. Milk protein provide protein for maillard rection, thus developing the caramel color and flavor. When milk protein is heated along with the sugars, this helps to create protein-to-protein and protein-to-sugar interactions to build a network that imparts body and structure, resistance to cold flow, and chewiness. The proteins also help to create and stabilize the fat-in-water emulsion. 