Science of Sugar Confectionery (RSC Paperbacks) - Softcover

Edwards, William P

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0854045937 ISBN 13: 9780854045938

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2000

Synopsis

Confectionery is a topic close to many people's hearts and its manufacture involves some interesting science. The confectionery industry is divided into three classes: chocolate, flour and sugar confectionery. It is the background science of this latter category that is covered in The Science of Sugar Confectionery. The manufacture of confectionery is not a science based industry, as these products have traditionally been created by skilled confectioners working empirically. In fact, scientific understanding of the production process has only been acquired retroactively. Historically however, sugar confectionery has had technological synergies with the pharmaceutical industry, such as making sugar tablets and applying panned sugar coatings. This book gives an introduction to the subject, with some basic definitions and commonly used ingredients and then moves on to discuss the chemistry of various types of sugar confectionery. These include "sugar glasses" (boiled sweets), "grained sugar products" (fondants), toffees and fudges, "hydrocolloids" (gums, pastilles and jellies) and concludes with a chapter dedicated to sugar-free confectionery.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Science of Sugar Confectionery

By W.P. Edwards

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2000 The Royal Society of Chemistry
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-85404-593-8

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction, 
Chapter 2 Basic Science, 
Chapter 3 Ingredients, 
Chapter 4 Emulsifiers, Colours and Flavours, 
Chapter 5 Confectionery Plant, 
Chapter 6 Sugar Glasses in the Chemistry of Boiled Sweets, 
Chapter 7 Grained Sugar Products, 
Chapter 8 Pan Coating, 
Chapter 9 Toffees and Caramels, 
Chapter 10 Gums, Gelled Products and Liquorice, 
Chapter 11 Chewing Gum, 
Chapter 12 Aerated Products, 
Chapter 13 Sugar-free Confectionery, 
Chapter 14 Lozenges, 
Chapter 15 Tabletting, 
Chapter 16 Experiments, 
Chapter 17 The Future, 
Subject Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The confectionery industry divides confectionery into three classes: chocolate confectionery, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery. Chocolate confectionery is obviously things made out of chocolate. Flour confectionery covers items made out of flour. Traditionally, and confusingly, this covers both long life products, such as biscuits, in addition to short-life bakery products. Sugar confectionery covers the rest of confectionery. In spite of the above definition, liquorice, which does contain flour, is considered to be sugar confectionery. The confectionery industry has created many confectionery products that are a mixture of categories, e.g. a flour or sugar confectionery centre that is covered with chocolate. There is another category that is sometimes referred to as 'sugar-free sugar confectionery'. This oxymoron refers to products that resemble sugar confectionery products but which are made without any sugars. The usual reason for making these products is to satisfy special dietary needs. A better name might be 'sugar confectionery analogues'.

The manufacture of confectionery is not a science-based industry. Confectionery products have traditionally been created by skilled craftsman confectioners working empirically, and scientific understanding of confectionery products has been acquired retroactively. Historically, sugar confectionery does have a link with one of the science-based industries – pharmaceuticals. In the eighteenth century, sugar confectionery products were made by pharmacists as pleasant products because the active pharmaceutical products were unpleasant. The two industries continue to share some technology, such as making sugar tablets and applying panned sugar coatings. There are products that although apparently confectionery are legally medicines. This usually applies to cough sweets and similar products. In the United Kingdom these products are regulated under the Medicines Act and require a product licence. This means that all the ingredients for the product are specified and cannot easily be altered. The dividing line between confectionery and medicines is not uniform in all countries.

One reason that confectionery making is not a science-based industry is the very long product life. The Rowntree's fruit pastille was invented in 1879 and was first marketed in 1881. This product is still one of the leading sugar confectionery lines in the UK today (1999), and it appears that it will continue to be sold into the 21st century. The man who invented it, Claud August Gaget, knew nothing of proteins or the peptide bond. In 1879 very little was known about proteins in scientific circles so there was no scientific basis from which to work.

FOOD LAW

Legislation affects all parts of the f

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0854045937
• ISBN 13: 9780854045938
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 150