Baking & Snack - September 2014 - 79

FORMULATION
Ingredient App

Quality of ( SHELF ) Life
Isomaltulose in glazes can extend the appeal of iced donuts.
by Joanie Spencer
In the past, the pre-packaged donut's reputation for a lack
of freshness meant it barely garnered more than a glance
on the supermarket shelf by midday. But in recent years,
donuts have experienced a renaissance of sorts, and consumers are seeing them as not only a breakfast item but
also a dessert, midday snack or even a midnight treat.
With donuts now getting a second look, the fresh factor is
more important than ever.
The biggest challenges that frozen- and fresh-packaged
donuts face are shelf life, stickiness and recrystallization
of the glaze. A packaged donut should look like it was
freshly packed, even after some days on the shelf or after
defrosting. It should be shiny, but not sticky, with moist,
tender crumb. Achieving these characteristics often depends on the glaze.
Beneo, Manheim, Germany, developed Palatinose, a
functional carbohydrate that when used in combination
with sucrose can lead to extended shelf life with a tender crumb, sweet taste and a transparent glaze. "A small
change in formula and process can help improve the
overall quality of the product and extend the shelf life,"
said Katja Reichenbach, product manager, Palatinose,
for Beneo.
Generically named isomaltulose, Palatinose is derived
from sugar beets and produced by enzymatic rearrangement. Its molecular structure looks very similar to sucrose, and while it's a real - albeit unique - sugar, it has
a much more stable structure, Ms. Reichenbach noted.

The donut's main challenges come mostly from the
battle for moisture. "There's going to be water migration from the layer with the highest water activity to the
one with the lowest," explained Annick Van Den Heuvel,
Beneo customer technical service engineer.
Palatinose will aid in shelf life extension through its
high water activity and water migration control. If it is
used next to sucrose as part of the glaze composition,
the water activity can be increased up to the level of the
donut's..
The ideal ratio of Palatinose to sucrose should be calculated based on the water activity of the donut, meaning
that the ratio will vary depending on the formulation.
Beneo's tests show that shelf life could extend from
three to seven days, depending on the donut and glaze
type, manufacturing process, packing style and formulation adjustment with Palatinose.
Moisture is also a major factor in the quality of the
glaze. "The most important barometer in controlling stickiness is the water migration," Ms. Van Den
Heuvel said, noting that Palatinose has low hygroscopicity, picking up little moisture even in high humidity
environments.
Palatinose has GRAS status as a nutritive sweetener in
the US and is marketed by Beneo, Morris Plains, NJ. For
more information on Palatinose, including an archived
webinar featuring Ms. Reichenbach and Ms. Van Den
Heuvel, visit www.beneo.com.

Specially processed isomaltulose,
derived from sugar beets and
produced by enzymatic rearrangement, has a more stable
structure than sucrose.
Beneo

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