Sugar in Ice Cream

Together with water, sugar is a primary ingredient for making ice cream. If, in fact, it is possible to obtain a good product by excluding milk and fats from the mixture, it is unthinkable to formulate a sugar-free ice cream.

The purpose of sugar in ice cream goes far beyond its sweetening capacity: this important raw material, in fact, is also exploited for its surprising anti-freezing capacity. In other words, the addition of sugars in an ice cream mix reduces the freezing capacity of the water present, preventing it from appearing as a hard and crystalline mass once subjected to the freezing process. Therefore, between two mixtures (with the same cold), the one with more sugars tends to remain softer and easier to use, precisely because the intrinsic ability to freeze is poorer. In general, the amount of sugar in an ice cream mix should be between 16 and 30%.

What are the sugars most used in the mixture of an ice cream?

The most commonly used sugar in ice cream mixes is SUCROSE since, being made up entirely of dry residue, it is the major solids carrier ingredient. Often, however, in the formulation of ice cream mixes, it is customary to mix sucrose with a "secondary sugar" - which must not however be in a higher quantity 20% sucrose - to avoid making ice creams that are too sweet or to further lower the freezing point of the mass.
Among the secondary sugars, a note of merit undoubtedly belongs to DEXTROSE (also called glucose or grape sugar). It is a monosaccharide with a lower sweetening power than sucrose (about 70%) but with the same energy value. However, in the formulation of an ice cream, what matters about dextrose is not so much its sweetening capacity, but rather its excellent anti-freezing power and preservative qualities. Suffice it to say that dextrose is able to lower the freezing point of the water (contained in the mixture) so much that it would not be possible to use it alone or as a total substitute for sucrose. This important secondary sugar is also used to enhance the aromas contained. in ice cream Dextrose is used in the mixture in concentrations equal to 15-20% of the amount of sucrose.
GLUCOSE SYRUP: it is a mixture of various sugars (glucose, maltose, maltodextrin, etc.) and water, with a liquid-thick consistency and a glossy and transparent appearance. Clearly, there are various types of glucose syrups, which differ according to the type of sugars that compose them. The dry matter present in glucose syrups is variable, and oscillates between "80% and" 85%. A glucose syrup must be chosen based on the percentage of dextrose present, expressed by the abbreviation "DE" . Specifically, the aforementioned acronym stands for "Dextrose Equivalent"and indicates the quantity (percentage) of reducing sugar calculated on the dry matter, expressed precisely in dextrose. In simple terms, this means that a low DE syrup contains a low amount of dextrose and will result in a slightly sweet and harder ice cream. Conversely, when you use a high DE glucose syrup, you will be able to obtain a sweeter and better spreadable ice cream. A low DE glucose syrup is suitable, for example, for the preparation of popsicles. The glucose syrups marketed have a DE between the values 38 and 60.
INVERT SUGAR: it is nothing but sucrose split - partially or totally - into glucose and fructose. It is a secondary sugar obtained by enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of sucrose. The "inverted" appellation refers to the behavior of polarized light when it is passed through an aqueous solution composed of glucose and fructose: in the case of sucrose, the polarized light rotates to the right (dextrorotatory compound), while the inverted sugar rotates the plane to the left (levorotatory compound). The (irreversible) transformation of sucrose into invert sugar gives the latter properties that are completely different from the original molecule. If 100 corresponds to the sweetening power of sucrose (reference sugar), that of invert sugar corresponds to 125-130: it can therefore be understood that the sweetening capacity of invert sugar is very high. This characteristic can be exploited when you want to prepare a very sweet mixture, without increasing the quantity of total solids. Furthermore, sugar inverted possesses extraordinary anti-freezing / anti-crystallizing capacity, c This is not always a positive feature because an incorrect and excessive dosage would produce an ice cream that is too soft, with a tendency to melt easily. Inverted sugar is used in concentrations between 10 and 15% of the total sugar.
HONEY: despite being an interesting food for its innumerable nutritional qualities, honey is not used very much in ice cream for at least two reasons. First of all, it is a highly aromatic product and its use in the mixture would risk masking the flavor of the main ingredients. Furthermore, honey has such a high anti-freezing power that it has to limit its percentage in the formulation of the mixture. In ice cream it is mostly used as a flavoring agent and for the production of specific "honey ice creams". This bee product has the same composition as invert sugar, being in fact composed of glucose and levulose (fructose).
MALTOSE: it is a reducing disaccharide composed of 2 glucose molecules. Although it has a sweetening power of about 1/3 compared to sucrose, it is not particularly used in ice cream as it does not substantially affect the freezing point of the mixture.
MALTITOL and SORBITOL: they are typical fruit sugar alcohols, generally used to make low-calorie or acarogenic products (not surprisingly, sugar alcohols are included in the formulation of chewingum and candies). Due to their plasticizing and humectant characteristics, they are also used in confectionery, for the production of nougat, crunchy products, meringues and dietetic products. In ice cream, the most used polyol seems to be maltitol: when substituted for a reduced part of sucrose, maltitol favors the reduction of the freezing point without however providing a high sweetening power (as it happens when using honey or invert sugar). In an ice cream mix, the recommended dose of sorbitol or maltitol should not exceed 5% of the total sugar weight. Furthermore, sorbitol is exploited in ice cream for some of its interesting potential: in addition to being a mild sweetener, sorbitol is also considered a stabilizer, a thickener and a support to enhance the flavors of the ice cream. An excess of sugar alcohols in ice cream could produce laxative effects.

The table shows the main sugars used for the formulation of a mixture, specifying the respective freezing points and their anti-freezing capacity, expressed with a value. The reference sugar is sucrose, which has a sweetening power of 100 and an anti-freezing capacity of 100.

Sugar Anti-freezing capacity Sweetening power Sucrose 100 100 Dextrose 180 73-75 Maltose 100 32 Invert sugar 190 125-130 Honey 190 130