How many kinds of sweeteners are there? What's the difference in sweetness?

Do you really know sugar? What is the classification of sugar? What kind of sugar is often referred to as "splenda"?

We often say that sugar, scientific name sweetener, according to the nutritional value is different, divided into nutritional sweetener and non-nutritional sweetener, the main difference is the energy contained is different.

Common nutritional sweeteners are: sucrose (white granulated sugar, brown sugar), honey, glucose, lactose, xylose, maltose, crystallized fructose, fructose syrup.Sugar reductionIntake of too much sugar will do harm to the health, the sugar here is nutritional sweeteners, these nutritional sweeteners are the trend of sugar reduction, need to reduce sugar, sugar reduction has become a normal life of consumers. "Sugar substitute"In the life of reducing sugar, often mentioned "sugar substitute", which is another type of sweetener: non-nutritional sweetener. The purpose of "sugar substitute" is to avoid the negative health effects of nutritional sweeteners. Non-nutritive sweeteners can be divided into natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners according to their sources.

Sensory evaluationOne of the most important components of sweeteners is sweetness, which can't be accurately measured by physical or chemical methods but only by the body's sense of taste.However, the sensory evaluation here is not only about the general feeling we usually taste food, but also through the evaluation and analysis of professional sensory evaluation team. The details are in "Behind the Unknown Sweetener on B". However, the sensory evaluation is not only subject to subjective influence, but also due to the objective conditions such as texture and humidity of the solution, so there is no absolute standard for sweetness at present.In the description of sweetness, the sweetness of 5% or 10% sucrose solution at 20°C is usually taken as the standard to compare the sweetness of other sweeteners under the same conditions. Due to the subjective factors of comparative measurement, the sweetness of sensory evaluation can only be used as an interval reference.

The following is a sensory assessment of nutritional sweeteners by the Green Stevia Institute.

name	sweetness	Sweet description	Influence on human body
Sucrose (white granulated sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar, liquid syrup)	1	The sweetness is pure, stable and has a good aftertaste	Increase blood sugar, cause dental caries.
honey	0.97 times	Sweet and slightly sour with a soft, delicate texture	Increase blood sugar, cause dental caries.
glucose	0.7 times	It's sweet but it's not as sweet as sucrose	Stimulates calcium absorption and increases intercellular communication. Too much leads to obesity and diabetes; Too little can cause hypoglycemia or a diabetic coma.
fructose (Crystallized fructose, High fructose corn syrup)	0.9 to 1.5 times	Cool taste, sweet disappear quickly, does not cover the food characteristic flavor.	Hygroscopicity is strong, contains part of grape sugar, affects blood sugar.
-- High fructose corn Syrup F55	0.9 times
-- High fructose corn syrup F42	0.7 times
maltose	0.4 times		Blood sugar rise, easy to cause abdominal distension. Detoxification and beautifying, tonifying spleen and softening liver.
xylose	0.4 times	Special smell and refreshing sweetness	Little effect on blood sugar levels
lactose	0.25x		Increase blood sugar, cause dental caries.

The following is a sensory review of high-power synthetic sweeteners by the Green Stevia Institute.

name	sweetness	Sweet description	character
edvename	14,000-48,000 times	Very similar to the taste of aspartame, both have a pure sweet taste, but Edvantian has a slightly longer sweet aftertaste than aspartame.	One of the newer sweeteners has not yet passed regulatory approval
neotame	7,000 to 13,000 times	It has pure sweetness, which is very close to aspartame. Under various conditions, its flavor distribution is not significantly different from that of aspartame. Sweetness formation is slightly delayed at the beginning, and sweetness duration is slightly longer.	Relatively stable, with security
alicame	2000-2900 times	The flavor is close to sucrose, sweet feeling is rapid, leaving sweet weak.	Have not beenIt is approved by the FDA and only approved for use in six countries including China, Australia and Mexico.
sucralose	400-800 times	The taste position in the mouth is slightly different from sucrose. Sucrose tastes in the front of the mouth, while sucralose tastes sweet in the middle of the mouth. Sucrose tastes sour, while sucralose tastes sweet.	When sucralose is heated toAt 120°C to 150°C, the sweetener will decompose and dechlorinate. This can lead to the formation of chlorinated organic compounds with potential health risks.
saccharin	300-350 times	Residual bitter and metallic taste.	On October 27, 2017, saccharin and its salt were included in the list of carcinogens published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization.
Acesulfamil (AK sugar)	200-250 times	Sweet taste is quick, taste does not linger. A slightly delayed bitter taste when used alone.	Studies of acesulfamil have shown varying levels of dietary safety and controversy.
Aspartame	180-220 times	The relative sweetness of aspartame was negatively correlated with the sucrose concentration, and the relative sweetness of aspartame was negatively correlated with the sucrose concentration.pH, tasting temperature, and the concentration of sucrose or other sugars.	It is not suitable for patients with phenylketonuria, so it should be specially labeled. The solubility of aspartame ispH as a function of temperature,
cyclamate	30-40 times	Good flavor, slightly sour taste, so often used in conjunction with saccharin sodium.	Poor security, has been the United States, Japan, etcBanned in more than 30 countries
Neomethylhesperidin dihydrochalcone	1500 to 1800 times	The sweetness comes slowly, lasts long after taste, the sweetness is refreshing and pleasant, and the sweetness reaches its maximum for a long time.	It is approved by Chinese law to be used in feed with good stability.

Artificial high-power sweetenerHigh-power sweeteners often have unpleasant aftertaste, combined with cost, sweetness and taste factors, the industry usually uses sweetener compounding technology to develop products.Artificial high-power sweeteners have been the first choice in China's economic consideration since the early days. However, consumers are paying more and more attention to the health of sugar reduction. However, consumers are resistant to the consumption of artificial sweeteners.
Natural sweeteners and Sugar alcohol sweetenersBoth natural sweeteners and sugar alcohols are currently the preferred sweetener combinations for researchers, and none of them can compete with table sugar. In the selection of sweeteners, sweetener combination is generally used to fit the sweetness curve of sucrose.

Here's the Green Stevia Institute's sensory assessment of low-power sweeteners.

name	sweetness	Sweet description	character
xylitol	1.2 times	With a cooling sensation after entrance,	An aqueous solution is thermally stable. You can't do that0 card declares.
maltitol	0.75-0.9 times	Sweet mild	Emulsification stability, low absorption rate, excessive consumption of blood sugar spike.
erythritol	0.6-0.7 times	Mild coolness in the mouth, pure taste.	It is easy to crystallize and can be used on food surface to prevent food from going bad due to moisture absorption.
Sorbitol	0.6 times	The cool sweetness.	Taking too much internally can cause diarrhea and digestive disorders.
mannitol	0.5-0.6 times	It has a refreshing sweet taste and absorbs heat when it dissolves. It has a sweet taste and feels comfortable to the mouth.	In sugar and sugar alcohol, the least hygroscopicity, used as a general pastry anti-stick powder.
arabinose	0.5 times	The sweetness of sucrose	Soluble in water, slightly soluble in ethanol, insoluble in ether, methanol and acetone, stable molecular structure, stable to heat and acid. Regulate blood sugar.
trehalose	0.45 times	Sweet mild, good taste.	Does not affect blood sugar, domestic regulations have not been passed
isomaltolose	0.42 times	The taste is similar to sucrose, mild and delicate.	Low risk of caking, generally made into beverages or other types of products.

Natural sweeteners are the ones that developers have been paying attention to. Here is the GL Stevia Institute's expert sensory evaluation of natural sweeteners.

name	sweetness	Sweet description	character
Stevia side	200-350 times	Of the main components of stevia,RM and RD had the best taste, with almost no bitter and metallic taste; RA had a slightly poor taste, with obvious afterbitter and licorice taste when the concentration increased; STv had the worst taste, with obvious metallic and afterbitter taste.	Stevia solution has a bitter aftertaste that gradually increases with increasing concentration. Stevia is stable at high temperatures, so it can be used in baking. Stevia also has the properties of long-term storage, no fermentation, and no Browning.
Monkfruit glycoside	240-300 times	Compared with stevia side, Grosvenor side has longer duration of sweetness, weaker bitterness and lasting aftertaste. However, when the concentration exceeds a certain range, similar to stevia side will still present afterbitter taste.	Thermal stability is not high, in a long time of high temperature, its configuration will change, and sour, astringent.

How many kinds of sweeteners are there? What's the difference in sweetness?

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