Culinology - June 2020 - 21

protein permeate powders to reduce sugar
without having to claim added sugars since
these ingredients contain lactose, but it's not
purified lactose so the FDA does not consider
these a source of added sugars," said
Jason Demmerly, director of research-global
applications, Glanbia Nutritionals, Chicago.
The inherent lactose, a reducing sugar,
will undergo the Malliard reaction when heat
is applied during the baking process. This
results in increased browning, which may
contribute to a sweeter flavor and increased
aromatic compounds.
Lactose may be manipulated to taste
sweeter through the incorporation of the
lactase enzyme. This is particularly useful
in dairy products such as flavored milk, ice
cream and yogurt.
"Lactase enzyme can do the trick of
reducing added sugar without impacting the
sweetness of the final product," said Jessica
Bentley, commercial development manager,
Chr. Hansen, Milwaukee, Wis. "It breaks
down the lactose to glucose and galactose,
which results in a naturally sweeter product."
The sweetness of yogurt and other
fermented dairy foods may be further
improved when lactase is used with the
right yogurt culture. This is because enzyme
activity may vary with the pH of the system.
"Innovative cultures can help reduce the
amount of added sugar in yogurt, yet keep
the sweet taste," Ms. Bentley said. "These
patented cultures work by converting the
naturally occurring sugars in milk, using
more of the lactose and leaving glucose
in the product matrix. Glucose provides
sweetness, meaning that less sugar needs to
be added for the same sweetness intensity
of the final fermented milk product. This
enables the development of natural and
clean-label products, avoiding the use of
artificial sweeteners."
Pam Gribou, director-research and
development/applications, First Choice
Ingredients, Germantown, Wis., said,
"Fermented dairy concentrates help
with masking of off-notes from sugar
alternatives, whether it is bitterness, metallic
or astringency, as well as provide added
mouthfeel. Sugar imparts both sweetness
and mouthfeel in food products and reducing
sugar can result in less mouthfeel and an
inferior finished food or beverage product."

©First Choice

Focus on mouthfeel
Mouthfeel, texture and taste perception
are all related. Changes in one may impact
another.
"Sugar plays a huge role in texture and
mouthfeel," said Yashar Shakarami, principal
scientist, Sensient Flavors, Hoffman Estates,
Ill. "Sweetness modification flavors may work
in conjunction with mouthfeel enhancers
or maskers to help create a full sugar
experience, naturally."
Philip Caputo, marketing and consumer
insights manager, Virginia Dare, Brooklyn,
NY, said there are flavor systems designed to
selectively mask off-tastes and undesirable
taste attributes, thereby allowing sweetness
to come through. Taste modulation solutions,
on the other hand, are designed to fine-tune
specific taste attributes, such as sweetness
perception and overall flavor impact.
Mouthfeel influences sweet taste. While
one may not think of clear beverages such as
iced tea, soda or flavored waters as having
mouthfeel, they do. The mouthfeel may be
manipulated to enhance sweetness while
keeping added sugars low or completely out.
"When sugar is decreased in beverages,
there is a loss in perceived viscosity, which
can lead to decreased consumer enjoyment,"
said Monica Gotomo Kapoor, principle
scientist, Edlong Corp., Elk Grove Village,

To reduce added
sugars, formulators
may incorporate
one or more nonsweetener ingredient.

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