Origin And Category of Syrup

Origin of Syrup

When you think of syrup, what’s the first scene that pops into your mind? The most common things we hear in our lives are: “Glucose syrup, maltose syrup, corn syrup…” Yes, these are all products that belong to the syrup category, as well as the molasses that we make by concentrating sugarcane juice. It belongs to the syrup category. Below we will explain the origin of syrup for you.

Molasses

Speaking of molasses, in fact, molasses is rarely used in China. Sugar cane is actually made from concentrated sugar cane juice, in which sulfurized molasses is a by-product of the sugar refining process. It is made from the sugar left over from the extraction of sugar in cane juice. But there is also unsulfurized molasses that is not a by-product, but a special sugar product that is much less bitter than sulfurized sugar.

Our general molasses contains a lot of sucrose, other powdered sugar and invert sugar. In addition to these accidents, there are also acidic ingredients and moisture, and other ingredients that can increase color and fragrance. Darker grades of molasses have a stronger flavor than lighter grades, but contain less sugar than lighter grades.

Molasses can hold moisture in baked products and prolong their freshness. Crispy cookies made with molasses tend to soften as invert sugar absorbs water.

Corn Syrup

Corn syrup is relatively familiar to us, and it is often used in our daily life to increase the consistency of products. Corn syrup is a liquid dessert, which contains water, vegetable gum dextrin and various sugars mainly composed of glucose. class composition. Corn syrup is made by various enzymes that convert corn flour into simpler compounds. Corn syrup adds moisture to the finished product and is often used in icing and candy dressings. Its taste is mild and not as sweet as cane sugar.

Glucose Syrup

Although we mentioned above that corn syrup contains sugar and glucose, pure glucose is also commonly used. It is similar to corn syrup, but it is colorless and odorless, and it serves the same purpose as corn syrup in a bakery. Glucose syrup is favored by bakers because of its purity. If a recipe calls for glucose syrup and you don’t have it on hand, you can substitute thin corn syrup.

Maltose Syrup

Maltose syrup, also known as malt extract, was originally mainly used for leavening bread. It is not only used as the target of yeast, but also can increase the taste of bread and the color of the outer skin. Maltose is extracted from malted barley.

There are two types of maltose syrup, amylase-containing and amylase-free. Amylase-containing maltose syrup contains an enzyme called amylase, which breaks down starch into sugars that the yeast can use. Therefore, when maltose syrup containing amylase is added to bread dough, it becomes a strong target for yeast. It is suitable for products with short fermentation time and not suitable for products with long fermentation time. Because the time is too long, the starch is broken down by the yeast too much, which will make the bread a sticky dough.

According to the content of amylase in maltose syrup, it can be divided into high, medium and low content products.

Maltose syrups that do not contain amylase are generally processed at high temperatures, which destroy the enzymes, resulting in a darker syrup and a stronger flavor. It is used because it contains fermentable sugars and can increase the color and taste of bread, while maintaining the quality of the bread and other properties.

There are actually two other forms of maltose syrup, one is dry maltose essence, which is dehydrated maltose syrup. It must be kept in an airtight container to prevent moisture. The other is maltol, which is also a dry powder, which is dried and milled from malted barley that has not yet been extracted with malt extract. Obviously, its concentration is relatively low. It can be mixed with flour when making bread.