21 Introduction to Sweeteners
Learning Objectives
- Identify and describe sugar and other sweeteners used in the food service industry
- Describe the production of sugar and other sweeteners
- Describe the function of sweeteners in baking
We often think of baked goods as being sweet, and sweeteners play an important role in the world of food and baking in particular. Sweetness is one of the key elements of taste (which is explored in more detail in the open textbook Nutrition and Labelling for the Canadian Baker) but sugars play many other important roles in baking, including contributing to texture, colour, and the chemical processes needed for fermentation. Sweetness is only one of the considerations, and this group of ingredients and how they affect different aspects of the baking process is a key to understanding baking science.