How is xylitol used in food?

Is xylitol sugar
Xylitol (C5H12O5), is a five-carbon sugar alcohol, is an intermediate product of xylost metabolism, the shape of white powdery crystals, easily soluble in water, widely found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, fungi and other foods and wood, straw, corn cob and other plants, is a natural, healthy sweetener.
Its sweetness is very similar to sucrose, but it has the advantage of low calories compared with sucrose, so it is often used as a substitute sugar and is favored by diabetes patients.
So, is xylitol sugar? We usually refer to sugar refers to monosaccharides and disaccharides, such as sucrose, white sugar, glucose, fructose, while xylitol belongs to sugar alcohol compounds, is the product of monosaccharide reduction, according to the latest report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, sugar includes monosaccharides, disaccharides and sugar alcohols, therefore, xylitol is also a sugar.
However, the metabolism of xylitol does not require insulin to promote, and can directly provide nutrients to tissues through cell membranes. After the human body ingests xylitol, the glucose content of the blood is rarely increased, which is not enough to cause the increase of blood sugar value. This is why your blood sugar is stable when you eat xylitol, which has a sweet taste.
Can sugar friends eat more xylose
We often hear sugar friends in the clinic xylitol food said as “sugar-free food”, in fact, this statement is not appropriate. The so-called “sugar-free” is only because the sucrose content of xylitol food is less than that of ordinary food, but xylitol is also a carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements, which can also release heat energy after oxidation in the human body.
In addition, the staple food xylitol food (biscuits, pastries, etc.) in order to reduce sucrose at the same time, in order to pursue taste, often increase the amount of starch, oil, resulting in high heat. The substance that causes our blood sugar to rise is not only sugar, but the overall heat is also the “culprit”, so excessive consumption of xylitol foods should be avoided.
Application of xylitol in food
1, the substitute role in baked goods in the application of sugar-free pastries, sugar-free pastries from the filling to the crust do not use sucrose. The use of both sweet, and do not produce heat or very low heat of various “sugar-free sweeteners” instead of sucrose production, the use of liquid xylitol sugar-free cake baking will not occur metold Browning reaction, the surface color is lighter, and the taste is better.
2, Xylitol can be used as a wine additive to improve the quality of wine Japanese research believes that adding 0.15% to 3% xylitol can improve the color, aroma and taste of wine. For example, adding 0.13% xylitol to synthetic alcohol instead of glucose can make sake aromatic, sweet and soft, and has the characteristics of reducing microbial degradation.
Similar results were obtained when 0.15%-2% xylitol was added to Weishangji wine. Adding 1.15% xylitol to liquor can make liquor taste smooth and mellow. In Baoding winery in China, xylitol was used in red grain Daqu, the dosage was 1%, as a flavoring agent. After the evaluation, it is thought that the aroma is rich and full, the taste is mellow, and the taste is sweet and long.
3, the application of xylitol in chocolate products made of xylitol can be suitable for diabetic patients to eat, like fructose, sorbitol or mannitol, xylitol can replace sugar in chocolate products. However, xylitol must be a finely ground powder, and the relative humidity of the air should be adjusted during the production process. If the relative humidity of the air exceeds 80%, the resulting product will appear rough “sandy” structure after storage for a period of time.
4, the application of xylitol in beverages Ordinary beverages are generally made by adding sucrose and a certain amount of acid and other ingredients, sugar-free beverages can be combined with xylitol and maltitol at low temperatures to achieve a soft and mellow taste of the finished beverage, without adding any high-intensity sweetener, and the finished product is refreshing and pleasant.
Xylitol can be combined with other sugar alcohols and fructose, or can be used alone in sugar-free tea drinks, fruit juice drinks and health drinks. In addition, xylitol can also control the caloric value, stabilize and protect the nutrients from destruction, and improve the taste, body and cool feeling of the beverage.
5. Application of xylitol in dairy products Xylitol, as a new functional factor that can improve gastrointestinal function, has high functional properties and is a promising functional addition factor. Sugar-free yogurt made of xylitol, due to its nutritional value of milk, can promote the proliferation of bifidobacterium and the digestion and absorption of nutrients and improve human immunity and other health functions, and become more and more popular dairy products for middle-aged and elderly people and children.
And because it has a weight loss effect, it is especially favored by women. If you add jam, fruit blocks, natural pigments and flavors to make different flavors of yogurt, can meet the needs of consumers with different hobbies for nutrition and health care functional acid.
6. Xylitol in confectionery Chewing gum and confectionery with xylitol as the main sweetener have been officially endorsed by six national dental health associations. Common hard candies often contain cane sugar and glucose syrup, the latter of which prevents crystallization and leaves the product as an amorphous, transparent solid.
Low energy confectionery has become a consumption hotspot and development focus in today’s international confectionery market, using xylitol as a filling sweetener instead of sucrose to produce candy, without adding aspartame and saccharin strong sweeteners, the manufacturing process will not produce boiling phenomenon, and recrystallization requires less space, equipment, time and energy. The candy produced has a better taste than other “non-sucrose” candies, with pure sweetness, refreshing and cold, and no bad aftertaste.
Because of the special molecular structure. No Maillard reaction will occur. When sugar is boiled, the color of the sugar body is stable, and it can withstand the high temperature when sugar is boiled, and it is not easy to decompose, while the thermal stability of the strong sweetener is poor, and it is easy to decompose at high temperature, resulting in the loss of sweetness. Xylitol alone does not produce a plastic product, but it can be made if mixed with sorbitol.