Texture Without the Calories

“Polyols are incompletely absorbed and metabolized by the body and, consequently, contribute fewer calories than sugars,” says Tim Bauer, polyols and dextrose product line manager, Cargill North America. “Due to their incomplete absorption, polyols produce a lower glycemic response than sugar or glucose.

“Sorbitol is the most commonly used and economic polyol,” Bauer continues. “It is about 60% as sweet as sugar with a third fewer calories, and very stable and chemically unreactive. Besides providing some sweetness and solids, sorbitol functions as a humectant and texturizing agent in snack foods and baked products. This helps maintain their initial freshness during storage.”

The polyol isomalt is manufactured from sugar in a two-stage process where it is first transformed into isomaltulose and hydrogenated into isomalt. Humans can only use 50% of isomalt for energy; thus, isolmalt provides 2 calories per gram. Its very low hygroscopicity allows it to fully replace sugar in a one-to-one ratio in many applications, including some baked goods.

Erythritol is gaining a great deal of attention in the low-calorie-formulating movement,because it is considered all natural, and thus accepted by the natural-foods industry. Organic erythritol is also available.

“Erythritol has recently been recognized as providing zero calories per gram,” says Bauer. “It is rapidly absorbed in the small intestine and eliminated by the body within 24 hours.”

This white crystalline powder flows easily due to its nonhygroscopic character. With about 70% the sweetness of sugar, erythritol has a clean, sweet taste, similar to sugar. Applications include beverages, crystallized confectionery, chocolate confections and dairy foods, including the increasingly popular category of yogurt beverages and shot-style probiotics.

“Because of its reduced sweetness, as compared to sugar, erythritol is often used in combination with high-intensity sweeteners,” says Bauer. “It has been shown to work synergistically with aspartame and acesulfame potassium, resulting in a sweeter combination than the sum of the individual components, and with an improved taste profile,” as well as economic and stability advantages.

Fiber solutions

Fiber is another ingredient that can make up for sugar’s bulk without adding high calories. Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL, offers soluble corn fiber as a partial replacement for sweetener solids in low-calorie formulations. At 2 calories per gram, it reduces calories and adds fiber to an array of foods, even products where one would not expect to find fiber, such as sauces, dressings and clear beverages, explains Doris Dougherty, senior food scientist, Tate & Lyle.This prebiotic fiber “has excellent process and acid stability, and dissolves clear in applications,” she says. “In addition to contributing fiber and reducing calories, it helps maintain the texture and body imparted from nutritive sweeteners.

“Using the soluble corn fiber in combination with sucralose, we were able to develop a 50% juice drink that has one-third fewer calories than some of the 25% juice drinks in the marketplace,” Dougherty continues. “When the soluble corn fiber is added at a rate of 8.7%, the finished juice beverage contains 14 grams of prebiotic fiber per 8-oz. serving.”

Fiber, in the form of a resistant starch, assists with lowering calories in fried snack foods. “It has very low water-holding capacity, making it easy to substitute for wheat flour in low-moisture systems such as crackers, cookie and snack products.” Dougherty says. “Because it picks up less oil in fried foods, sometimes as much as 15% to 20% less oil, these foods contain less fat and, thus, fewer calories. Further, the low water-holding provides for quick-release of water during processing. This allows for the proper amount of puffing and crisping of the finished product.”

Jim Miller, director of product management, Tate & Lyle Americas, says other resistant starches do not survive well in extreme process conditions. But, he says this particular ingredient “can be used in smaller quantities to deliver better results. This means it is cost-efficient and has less impact on the formulation.”

Labeled as “corn starch” on ingredient legends, the new resistant starch contains 1.7 calories per gram. It effectively replaces grain-based ingredients such as corn meal or wheat flour in an array of snack foods. For example, by directly replacing a portion of the corn meal in a corn-puff snack, the calories can be reduced up to 25%, at the same time allowing for an “excellent source of fiber” claim.

Polydextrose is another fiber-like ingredient that has a long history as a bulking agent for sugar as well as fat replacement. It is considered a digestion-resistant oligosaccharide, providing 1 kcal per gram, plus prebiotic qualities. It supplies little to no sweetness, making it a valuable sugar-replacement tool when combined with high-intensity sweeteners.

Food-product designers have an array of tools to assist with keeping calories low and flavors and textures satisfying. As consumers return to counting calories to lose and maintain a healthful weight, they will have plenty of delicious options to choose from.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at donnaberry@dairy-food.com.