Maltose
SUNMALT

SUNMALT is a maltose monohydrate, a carbohydrate sweetener and bulking agent that until recently has not been a suitable ingredient for the food industry given its high production cost. A breakthrough in process know-how in Japan has enabled the food processing industry there to take full advantage of the surprising functionality and utility of SUNMALT in various food systems, so it can now be offered at an economical price.

SUNMALT prolongs the shelf life of baked goods. Since it works better than other sugars to prevent starch retrogradation, it stabilizes natural fruit colors and flavors and enhances flavors in food systems which otherwise may be dominated by the sweetness of sucrose. SUNMALT is an ideal complement to sucrose yet retains very similar bulking and texture building qualities with one-third the sweetness. The possibility of blending gives the food technician more flexibility and freedom in matching sweetness and flavor profiles in his or her food systems while maintaining a given mouthfeel.

Like sucrose, SUNMALT is a disaccharide consisting of two glucose molecules. Therefore it is defined as a food, not as an additive. No additive petitions have been required nor are there restrictions on categories of use. It has processing characteristics similar to sucrose in terms of saccharimetric value, viscosity, osmotic pressure, gel strength, low water activity, etc. In addition there are some advantages, which are indicated in the applications mentioned below as well as in the accompanying data.

Improves Shelf Life of Starch Containing Foods as Cakes
If one compares softness and moisture content of sponge cake or other media during a shelf-life test with a sucrose/SUNMALT blend, one obtains significantly better results with the sucrose/SUNMALT blend than with sucrose alone or a blend of other sweeteners including HFCS but excluding SUNMALT. The outlook for the use of SUNMALT in breads is also intriguing though perhaps more developmental work needs to be done to establish the proper varieties of yeast that can have an adequate affinity for maltose.

Microbial Growth Inhibitor
SUNMALT has a low water activity similar to sucrose, which makes it ideal in applications such as poultry coating mixes where maltose may be used together with spices or other coating blends to inhibit microbial growth on poultry skin which otherwise provides a good moist medium.

Sugar Crystallization Inhibitor
SUNMALT inhibits sugar crystallization in various applications. An exciting use is in frozen glazes and icings.

Anthocyanin Color Stabilizer
SUNMALT is widely used with great success in Japan to preserve the brilliance of fruit fillings or preserves, notably strawberry and including fillings on cookies, jams, etc. and to prevent discoloration. SUNMALT helps preserve natural fruit flavors and in addition is useful for cooking glazes or sprinkling to add an attractive luster to the surface of such baked goods.

Oils and Fats Absorber
SUNMALT has the interesting property of absorbing oils and fats which could make it useful in improving the texture and palatability of oily products such as croissants.

Sweetness Reducer
Since SUNMALT is one-third as sweet as sucrose it may be useful in formulations which would otherwise require a high concentration of sucrose such as pie fillings. In such formulations blending SUNMALT with sucrose can alleviate the overpowering sweetness without losing the positive processing benefits of otherwise high sucrose concentrations.

In addition, SUNMALT has other properties and applications, such as being an ideal carbon source in fermentation culture media, especially to ensure smooth culture growth and performance. Glucose, in comparison, has a higher osmotic pressure which may cause erratic performance when added.