There’s more to sugar than sweetness

Sugar has a bad image these days, but of course it is not necessarily a bad thing. From a nutritional point of view, sugars are simple carbohydrates that are easily absorbed by the body, providing an immediate source of energy. However, if too much sugar is consumed compared to the amount of energy expended, it is stored in the body as fat and can lead to an increased risk of illnesses. Therefore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has drawn up recommended limits of sugar consumption. For bakers and patissiers, this can be a challenge.
 

Sugar is important in patisserie and dessert products. Not only because it gives the delicious taste that consumers expect, but also because it fulfils other functions in the preparation of these products. In cakes, sugar helps the product to remain moist and fresh, and it gives the product a gloriously golden crust. Fruit and cream fillings benefit from a better texture and mouthfeel with sugar, as well as longer shelf life. And in chocolate, as well as texture and mouthfeel, sugar provides a bulking effect. And there’s more to sugar, as you can see in this table: 
 

Before we start reducing the sugar level in products, we have to carefully consider how to compensate for these effects with another approach or ingredient. And that’s exactly what Puratos did. We have developed a new range of sugar-reduced patisserie, which delivers the high standards of taste that you want for your consumers, but contributes to meeting the new sugar consumption guidelines developed by the WHO. The range includes cake mixes, fruit fillings, cream fillings, vegetable cream and chocolate.