On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1237

cornerring,predominatesincold,somewhat
acidsolutions;inwarmorhotconditions,this
shapeshiftstolesssweetfive-cornerrings.
Theapparentsweetnessoffructoseiscut
nearlyinhalfat140ºF/60ºC.Neitherglucose
norsucrosechangessodrastically.Fructoseis
thusausefulsubstitutefortablesugarincold
drinks,whereitcanprovidethesame
sweetnesswithhalftheconcentrationanda
caloriesavingsapproaching50%.Inhot
coffee,however,itssweetnessdropstothe
leveloftablesugar.
Sucrose Sucrose is the scientific name for
table sugar. It is a composite molecule made
ofonemoleculeeachofglucoseandfructose.
Greenplantsproducesucroseintheprocessof
photosynthesis, and we extract it from the
stalks of sugar cane and the storage stems of
sugarbeets.Ofallthecommonsugars,ithas
the most useful combination of properties. It
is the second sweetest, after fructose, but is


alone in having a pleasant taste even at the
veryhighconcentrationsfoundincandiesand
preserves; other sugars can seem harsh.
Sucroseisalsothesecondmostsolublesugar
—twopartscandissolveinonepartofroomtemperature water — and it produces the
greatest viscosity, or thickness, in a water
solution. Sucrose begins to melt around
320ºF/160ºC, and caramelizes at around

340ºF/170ºC.
Whenasolutionofsucroseisheatedinthe
presenceofsomeacid,itbreaksapartintoits
twosubsugars.Certainenzymeswilldothe
samething.Breakingsucroseintoglucoseand
fructoseisoftenreferredtoasinversion,and
theresultingmixtureiscalledinvertsugaror
invertsyrup.(“Inversion”referstoa
differenceinopticalpropertiesbetween
sucroseandamixtureofitscomponents
parts.)Invertsyrupsareabout75%glucose
andfructose,25%sucrose.Invertsugaronly
existsasasyrup,sincethefructose