Erythritol, a filling sweetener, is a tetracarbonol with the molecular formula of C4H10O4. Erythritol is widely found in nature, such as fungus mushrooms, lichens, melon and fruit melons, grapes, pears, and a small amount of it can also be detected in the eye lens, plasma, fetal fluid, semen and urine of animals. It is also found in a small amount in fermented food wine, beer, soy sauce, and Japanese sake. It is a white crystalline powder that can be fermented from glucose. It has a refreshing sweet taste, is not easy to absorb, is stable at high temperature, is stable in a wide range of pH, and has a mild cool feeling when dissolved in the mouth. It is suitable for a variety of foods.
Characteristics of erythritol:
1. Low sweetness: Erythritol is only 60% - 70% sweeter than sucrose. It has a cool taste in the mouth, has a pure taste, and has no aftertaste. It can be used in combination with high power sweetener to inhibit the bad flavor of its high power sweetener.
2. High stability: it is very stable to acid and heat, and has high resistance to acid and alkali. It will not decompose and change under 200 ℃, and will not change color due to Maillard reaction.
3. High heat of dissolution: Erythritol has heat absorption effect when dissolved in water. The heat of dissolution is only 97.4kJ/kg, which is higher than that of glucose and sorbitol. It has a cool feeling when eaten.
4. Solubility: The solubility of erythritol at 25 ℃ is 37% (W/W). With the increase of temperature, the solubility of erythritol increases, and it is not easy to crystallize and precipitate crystals.
5. Low hygroscopicity: Erythritol is very easy to crystallize, but it will not absorb moisture in 90% humidity environment. It is easy to crush to obtain powder products, which can be used on the surface of food to prevent food from moisture absorption and deterioration.
Effect of erythritol:
1. Antioxidation: Erythritol is a powerful antioxidant, which can effectively remove free radicals in the body and prevent free radicals from continuing to harm the body. This helps prevent blood vessel damage caused by hyperglycemia, is also beneficial to skin health, and can delay aging.
2. Increase the sweetness of food: Erythritol is a sweetener, which basically contains no calories. Adding it to food can increase its sweetness, but it will not affect the level of insulin or blood sugar. Erythritol is a sweetener with a sweetness of 60% - 70% of sucrose. It has a cool sweet taste in the mouth and is generally used in cakes, candy, beverages and other foods.
3. Oral protection: Erythritol has low calories, about 6%. And the molecule is very small, easy to be absorbed and utilized by the human body, and will not be metabolized by enzymes. It has high stability and tolerance, and will not be used by oral bacteria, so it will not cause tooth damage, but also reduce the growth of oral bacteria and effectively protect oral health.
4. Help lose weight
Although erythritol is sweet, it has no calories. It is a natural zero-calorie sweetener. For cake products, adding erythritol can reduce at least 30% of calories, and will not bring negative effects after use. After eating, it can help to lose weight, and is very suitable for people who want to lose weight to replace sugar.
5. Improve odor
Erythritol can promote the solution combination of ethanol molecules and water molecules. Alcoholic beverages can reduce the odor and sensory stimulation of alcohol, and can effectively improve the quality of Baijiu and wine. At the same time, Erythritol can also significantly improve the bad smell of plant extracts, collagen, peptides and other substances. At present, Erythritol has been added to some collagen product formulations to improve the taste.
Compared with xylitol, erythritol has the following advantages:
1. Erythritol is a natural zero calorie sweetener, while xylitol is caloric.
2. Erythritol has higher tolerance than xylitol. All sugar alcohols will cause diarrhea if eaten too much. There is a tolerance problem, and erythritol is the highest tolerance of human body.
3. The average blood glucose index and average insulin index of erythritol are lower than that of xylitol. Therefore, erythritol has less effect on blood glucose and has antioxidant activity.
4. Many sugar alcohols will feel cool when eating. This cool feeling comes from the absorption of heat by dissolution. When dissolved, it will absorb your heat, so we feel cool. The degree of coolness of each product is expressed by the coefficient of heat of dissolution and absorption. Erythritol has the highest heat of dissolution and absorption, and its coolness is the highest.
5. In terms of production process, erythritol is the only sugar alcohol produced by fermentation, which is closer to natural transformation and extraction. Other sugar alcohols are produced by hydrogenation, so the production process is different.
6. Erythritol is basically non-hygroscopic, and other sugar alcohols have different degrees of hygroscopicity, so non-hygroscopicity increases the application field.
7. Xylitol is mainly used in candy and medicine fields in Europe. Although xylitol is added in an appropriate amount according to FDA and European regulations, excessive intake of xylitol will cause symptoms such as high blood sugar and diarrhea.