Application of Maltitol in New Food and Beverage Products

In recent years, the global market demand for maltitol has continued to grow. On the one hand, maltitol has a better taste and can be used to replace sucrose in low-sugar/zero-sugar baked goods, candy, chocolate, juice drinks, and ice cream to make it taste delicate and sweet; on the other hand, maltitol is also an important moisturizer, excipient, thickener and emulsifier widely used in food and daily chemical products. In addition, maltitol's non-cariogenic, low GI, low calorie, beneficial gut health and bone health properties also make it a healthy sugar substitute.

Among the new food and beverage products in 2023, maltitol has a large number of applications, and it is one of the main filling sweeteners used by confectionery, baking, and dairy companies to upgrade their products to reduce sugar.

In which products is maltitol most used?

Baked goods.

From 2018 to 2022, the compound annual growth rate of the new global baking sugar-reducing product index is 10.02%. The choice of sugar-reducing raw materials is dominated by sugar alcohols, accounting for 62%, of which maltitol is the most frequently used. The sweetness of maltitol is 90% of that of sucrose. It has a pure sweetness and a refreshing feeling. Its calories are 60% of that of sucrose. It is a low GI raw material. The physical and chemical properties such as molecular weight and solubility are also close to those of sucrose. It is one of the sugar substitutes commonly used in baking.

1. Chinese pastries.

As young people pay more attention to traditional culture and improve their spending power, Chinese pastries have gradually become one of their consumption choices. According to statistics, the Chinese pastry market in China has exceeded 100 billion yuan, and it is showing a growing trend year by year. It mainly includes moon cakes, yolk pastry, pineapple crispy, mung bean cakes, mochi, walnut cookie, etc. Maltitol liquid has a strong viscosity and is suitable for making sticky baked foods, such as various Chinese pastry fillings, Shaqima, mochi, yolk pastry, etc.

2. Cake and bread.

The use of maltitol in cakes can significantly reduce the surface tension of egg liquid, improve the stability of foam, and improve the quality of cakes. A study completely replaced sucrose in sponge cake with maltitol, xylitol, and erythritol, and compared their effects on the rheological, thermodynamic, and baking properties of sponge cake batter. The results showed that maltitol had no effect on the batter properties, reducing the red hue of the cake crust and enhancing its brightness, the overall quality of the cake is still acceptable. In addition, the application of maltitol in bread can increase the extensibility of dough, reduce the hardness of bread core, improve the water retention of bread, improve the sensory quality of bread, and prolong the shelf life of bread.

3. Biscuit cookies.

The appearance and taste of maltitol biscuits are similar to those of sucrose. Through the compounding of various sugar alcohols, the crispness of biscuits can be increased by 50%, the hardness can be reduced by 6%, and the overall taste of sugar substitute biscuits can be improved.

Candy and Chocolate.

Because maltitol has a good flavor and taste, good moisture retention, non-crystallinity and stability, it can be used to make various candies, including marshmallows, hard candies, jelly candies, etc. Maltitol has good fluidity and compression formability, and is widely used as an excipient for tablet processing, and can be used to make tablet candies and chewing gum coatings. Sugar-free chocolate made with maltitol for the ideal level of sweetness combined with a crunchy mouthfeel and fine texture.

Yogurt.

Adding sugar alcohol can improve the stability of yogurt. Maltitol has the best effect. After compounding with xylitol and erythritol, it will not affect the fermentation time of yogurt.

Drinks.

Maltitol is suitable to be added to protein beverages. The substitution of sucrose by maltitol does not affect the stability of the protein beverage system (fat floating/protein precipitation). It is also better than sucrose in maintaining color and luster. It is not easy to appear yellowing and darkening after high temperature sterilization, which can help enhance the flavor and texture of protein drinks.

Ice cream.

Maltitol is one of the most used sugar substitutes in sucrose-free ice cream. Maltitol is used in frozen dairy products and ice cream to make the product creamy and make the ice cream more sticky and chewy. The ice crystals formed by maltitol are also smaller, which can make the taste more delicate when used in frozen ice products. Maltitol is also more resistant to melting, allowing ice cream to melt more slowly at room temperature.