Sugars undergo various reactions : mostly inversion and caramelization. This post will discuss these two reaction processes and their importance in the food industry.
Inversion is the hydrolysis of sucrose in a equivalent mixture of fructose and glucose. It takes place with the enzyme invertase used as a catalysts. An acid such as citric acid is added .This results in the production of a sweeter solution –invert sugar that is more moist and less crystallizable. Invert sugar acts as a sweetener and is used in baking, and in the manufacture of beverages and confectionary.
Then there is also caramelization which we will discuss.
Caramelization is a non-enzymatic reaction of sugars that involves browning during the cooking process. The formation of a caramel colour and flavour are distinctive effects of the heating process. During the heating process, several reactions tend to occur correspondingly whose by-product quality highly depends on the water activity, pH and structure of the sugars. When you heat sugar in a pan, it turns to a dark brown syrup solution, referred to as caramel. At temperatures of about 320 to 356° F, the process of caramelization occurs. It undergoes various stages at different temperatures. At 320° F , the sugar is liquefied , and a clear liquid forms. At temperatures of 338° F, the sugar begins to caramelize forming a change in colour to brown. Then at temperatures of 356° F , the brown syrup darkens to dark brown.
To prepare caramel, begin by adding a little amount of water to some sugar in a pan (made of copper) while you continue stirring until you achieve a thick consistency. In addition, add some lemon juice, corn syrup or vinegar to the mixture to prevent crystallization from taking place, then heat the pan .You will notice the changes in colour of the solution as temperature changes.
During processing, sugars commonly undergo 2 main reactions namely; inversion and caramelization. Both these processes are important in forming products useful in cookery. The inversion process forms invertase sugar that is used as a sweetener. The process of caramelization is important in forming products useful as food colours and flavour enhancers. It involves the browning of sugars, with changes in temperatures.