On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1246

Sugars combine several useful qualities in one ingredient: energy, sweetness, substance, moisture binding, and the ability to caramelize The problem with this versatility is that each quality comes with the others And sometimes we want just one or two alone: the pleasure of sweetness without the calories or stress on the body’s system for regulating blood sugar levels, for example, or the substance without the sweetness, or substance and sweetness without the tendency to brown when cooked Manufacturers have therefore developed ingredients that offer some but not all of the properties of sugars Many of these ingredients were originally discovered in plants; a few are entirely artificial Inventive cooks are now experimenting with some to make candy-like savory foods and other novelties There are two main kinds of sugar substitutes The first includes various carbohydrates that provide bulk without being as digestible as the sugars They therefore don’t raise blood sugar levels as quickly, and supply fewer calories The second is highintensity sweeteners: molecules that provide the sensation of sweetness without supplying many calories, usually because they are hundreds or thousands of times sweeter than sugar, and are used in tiny quantities Lowand no-calorie sweets are made by combining these two kinds of ingredients, whose qualities are summarized in the chart on pp 660–661 The Glycemic Index of Various Sugars and Foods The “glycemic index” is a measure of how much a given food raises blood glucose levels The glycemic index of glucose itself is set at 100 Sugar Glycemic Index ... qualities are summarized in the chart on pp 660–661 The Glycemic Index of Various Sugars and Foods The “glycemic index” is a measure of how much a given food raises blood glucose levels The glycemic index of glucose...as digestible as the sugars They therefore don’t raise blood sugar levels as quickly, and supply fewer calories The second is highintensity sweeteners: molecules that provide the sensation of sweetness without supplying... many calories, usually because they are hundreds or thousands of times sweeter than sugar, and are used in tiny quantities Lowand no-calorie sweets are made by combining these two kinds of ingredients, whose