Unique sugar replacer is icing on - and in - the cake

Published: 17-Mar-2017

It may seem obvious that icings and fillings on our favourite bakery and confectionery products are sugar-loaded – but did you know that this sugar content can be reduced by up to 50% with no adverse effect on texture, taste or mouthfeel?

A unique new sugar displacement product called avanté, from leading British owned clean label ingredient specialist Ulrick & Short, enables manufacturers to reduce sugar by up to 25% cent in frostings and as much as 50% in some sweet fillings.

The tapioca based product has already made a successful debut in grocery after a household name retailer used it to reduce the sugar content in cupcake frosting in a Christmas line, with further products targeting children to follow this year.

The primary challenge in sugar replacement is less to replicate the sweetness and more about retaining functionality and form; in the case of frostings the key is to maintain structure and volume.

John Ellis, Ulrick & Short Field Support Technologist, explained: “A typical sweet topping will contain approximately 30% fat and 70% sugar. The level of fat has gradually shrunk in recent years in favour of sugar – because sugar is considerably cheaper and for some time fat was seen as the villain of the peace."

"However, in a catch-22 situation, reducing fat affects structure and volume and increasing fat adds calories - so that is precisely where avanté comes in either on its own or in conjunction with one of our other innovative ingredients."

“This new non-GM clean label starch is the perfect solution to reducing sugar in frostings and fillings whilst maintaining form and flavour. In a filling for, say, a Swiss roll, celebration or slab cake, it’s possible to replace up to half of the sugar content; in toppings up to 25% whilst retaining definition; and glace icing such as for doughnuts could see a 20% reduction. With the help of our food technologists there is an almost endless range of sweet applications that could benefit from bespoke product development.”

Ulrick & Short has invested significant time and expertise into proving the functionality and versatility of its sugar replacement ingredients, which help to maintain superb texture alongside a credible gloss finish and enhanced flavours.

The company’s sugar replacement range can provide a genuine, functionally credible alternative for food manufacturers that not only fulfils all requirements for taste, texture and flavour, but also enhances flavours and spices rather than masking them.

Coupled with other ingredients such as fat replacers, proteins and fibres, food manufacturers have everything they need to provide consumers with healthier alternatives to their favourite foods – including sugar-loaded bakery.

Ulrick & Short is the leading British-owned starch specialist, supplying household name food manufacturers across the world with naturally gluten-free non-GM ingredients, and innovating across a diverse range of food industry sectors including bakery, meat, dairy, soups and sauces.

The company has a team of dedicated sector specialists and food technologists based in Yorkshire and works hand in hand with customers to maximise value from product development.

You may also like