Caramel creates a different sweetness and coolness.

　I don't know when, the drinks and desserts world quietly blew up the "caramel wind", caramel marcido, caramel milk tea, caramel ice cream, caramel biscuits, caramel cream cake ... These caramel-flavored items have become the product of many stores because of their unique flavor.
caramel as the new darling of the food industry, although the widespread popularity of recent years, but caramel in the food industry has long been very successful application. Coca-Cola, for example, contains acid-resistant caramel, an integral part of the cola flavor composition, and the use of caramel to adjust the color of condiments such as soy sauce is a typical example of caramel application. So what exactly is caramel? What are the special features compared to other additives?caramel is sugar?
caramel is based on starch, sucrose, glucose and other sugars as raw materials, after caramelization reaction, Merad reaction produced by a class of sepia substances, with the role of regulating food color and flavor. Caramel, short for caramel pigment, is a colorant commonly used in the food industry. In fact, caramel is no longer a real sugar, it is called caramel, mainly because it is very closely related to sugar, customaryly called caramel.
Depending on the catalyst used in the caramel production process, caramel can be divided into four categories: ordinary caramel (class I), sulphate caramel (class II.), ammonia caramel (class III.), ammonium sulphate caramel (class IV.).
Ordinary caramel production process does not use catalysts, is the sugar in high temperature conditions by caramelization reaction and production, the product does not contain 4-methyl mide (4-MI), high safety, sulphate caramel is the sugar at high temperature conditions with sulphate as the catalyst reaction product, mainly used as flavor agent.
caramel is the product of the merad reaction and caramelization reaction between sugar compounds and ammonia compounds at high temperatures. This kind of caramel production cost is low, colorability is strong, color rate is high, the use is more extensive. But the production of such caramel produces 4-MI, whose safety has been controversial.
sulphate caramel is a product of sugars under the action of high temperature and ammonium sulphate, often used in beverages, but also contains 4-MI.
caramel composition is more complex. First, according to the physical properties can be divided into volatile components and non-volatile components.
, volatile components are mainly water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, acetic acid, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methanol, ethanol and so on. Low molecular weight components in non-volatile components vary depending on the type of caramel. Taking ordinary caramel as an example, its non-volatile components include D-fructose, D-glucose, isomalose, quercetin and other sugars, high-level fatty acids, formate, fumaric acid, amber acid and other acids, 2-acetaldehyde, 5-methylphenidate, 2-acetylfuran and 2-acetylfal compounds and 2-acetylene formaldehyde, acetate, glucosaccharides and other carbide compounds and some other components have not yet been clear.
caramel-containing foods are derived from the flavor ingredients in caramel. Such as ordinary caramel characteristic flavor ingredients are mainly acetic acid, sterol, 2-pyridoxine formaldehyde, 2-acetylfuran and 5-methyl acetaldehyde, etc. ; There is a balanced ratio between the different flavor ingredients, forming the caramel soul caramel flavor. When the sweetness is mixed with the caramel flavor, this sweetness adds a cool atmosphere, which is the charm of caramel for most people.caramel safe?
safety of caramel mainly revolves around 4-MI as a by-product.
4-MI is a nitrogen-containing hybrid compound, which is a by-product of the production process of sulphate caramel, ammonia caramel and ammonium sulphate caramel, and is neurotoxic in high concentrations.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have repeatedly been caught up in the caramel storm because of 4-MI. After years of research by researchers proved that caramel is harmless, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Committee of Experts on Food Additives also confirmed the safety of caramel, but also set a limit on the content of 4-MI.
China's national standard GB1886.64-2015 "National Standard for Food Safety Food Additive Caramel Color" also clearly stipulates that the content of 4-MI in caramel must be less than 200 mg/kg.
Generally speaking, the amount of caramel added in food is 2% to 5% to achieve color increase, flavor increase effect, therefore, caramel flavor food may contain 4-MI amount of the human body will not be a burden, can be safe to eat. Moreover, with the improvement and upgrading of the production process, the content of 4-MI in caramel is getting lower and lower. the bottleneck in development?
, China's caramel industry urgently needs to solve the technical and industry planning two levels of the problem.
in terms of technology, one is how to improve the color rate of ordinary caramel, coloring and other quality problems, and the other is how to reduce the production of ammonia caramel 4-MI.
produces 4-MI in the production of ordinary caramel, so safety is its biggest advantage, but the effect is short board. If we can improve the performance of ordinary caramel in color rate and colorability, its competitiveness will be greatly improved, for the caramel industry is also a big breakthrough. In addition, because ammonia caramel in coloration, color rate and production costs have obvious advantages, if from the improvement of preparation and purification process to solve the safety problem, that is, reduce the by-product rate of 4-MI, is also a good measure.
, caramel is gaining momentum, but it also faces problems such as limited market size, uneven distribution of markets, unclear product structure and positioning, and a lack of analysis of consumer demand. Therefore, how to further integrate the existing production resources, establish a scientific, large-scale production pattern, refine the product structure and classification, investigate the user group's purchase frequency, taste preferences and other demand characteristics, and on this basis, better predict and plan the future development of the industry, etc., will be China's caramel industry in the industry planning level of the challenge.
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