Sugar Free
I heard of this again a few months ago. Some fellow bakers in my area are advertising sugar free cookies, muffins, and scones at our weekend farmers market. Knowing a little about food chemistry, I am drawn to the structure of their final products I know that table-sugar (sucrose) provides baked goods structure as well as sweetness. But sugar substitutes offer sweetness too! The crystalline structure allows sucrose to help baked foods retain their moisture and acts as browning reaction, a preservative to improve the flavor and texture of baked foods. : flat cookies are a result of using fine sugar substitute and no browning reaction on top of muffins or quick breads is indictive of typical sugar substitutes. The crystal structure is what is lacking in most sugar substitutes. In searching for a sugar substitute that has crystal structure took time. Virtually every substitute for baking was mixed with erythritol. Erythritol is a plant-based sugar alcohol naturally found in many vegetables and fruits like watermelon, pears & grapes. However, erythritol cannot be chemically synthesized in a commercially worthwhile way resulting in a switch to biotechnological production. Erythritol is created through a fermentation process where glucose, extracted from corn starch, is fermented by a specific type of yeast. As soon as I see the word ‘glucose’ I feel the need to research more. I am a child of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or the combination of glucose and fructose. There are pros and cons to everything and here are the good and bad about erythritol.
Good things: non-caloric, non-glycemic, high digestive tolerance, free radical scavenger, anti-oxidative properties, and increases malabsorption of fructose.
Dreadful things: Bloating, diarrhea, nausea, heart attack and stroke. Caveats: it depends on the amount you ingest. As recent as 2023 science found that 60 grams (2.1 ounces) for a 200-pound man and 54 grams (1.9 ounces) for a 150-pound woman did not cause these bad things. However, how many of us measure anything that goes in our mouth? It is your choice.
I also found ALLULOSE. Scarcely found in figs, raisins, wheat, maple syrup and molasses. Most commercial producers like to preface with, “Naturally found in low levels…” As glucose triggered my research part of my brain, allulose made from fructose did the same thing. Chemically altering fructose, sugar found in plants is the general manufacturing process for allulose. The process involves enzymatic conversion and fermentation. The enzymatic conversion from fructose to allulose is efficient for commercial production.
The upside of allulose is: Tastes more like sugar (sucrose), has fewer calories than sugar, has a crystal structure like sugar, does not contribute to cavities, does not affect blood sugar.
The downside of allulose: Allulose is new as a sugar free alternative that contains taste and baking characteristics remarkably like sugar. It has similar chemical properties to erythritol. If consumed in copious quantities, you can expect digestion issues.
Both erythritol and allulose are healthier alternatives, but the best choice depends on your dietary needs and preferences. Allulose contains more calories per gram, though erythritol may have negative gastrointestinal consequences if you do not tolerate it well.
I am using pure allulose as a sugar free alternative in my non yeast baked foods.
