Substituição do açúcar por edulcorantes em balas tipo gelatina

Abstract

The negative impact of sugar consumption on human health is widely discussed, and gummy candies are products rich in this ingredient and highly consumed by the population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to replace sugar with sweeteners (xylitol, maltitol, and erythritol) in gummy candies and to evaluate the effects of this substitution on the physicochemical characteristics (texture, color, pH, soluble solids, acidity, and water activity) of the developed products. For each candy formulation, 41.75 g of the sweetener (xylitol, maltitol, or erythritol) were dissolved in 82.5 mL of water at 100 °C, followed by the addition of 25.5 g of unflavored gelatin, 45.5 g of glucose syrup, 1.8 g of citric acid, 1.5 mL of lemon flavoring, and 0.5 mL of green coloring. The mixture was homogenized and poured into acrylic molds. Texture analysis was performed with eight repetitions per formulation using a TA.XT texturometer with an SMS P/36R probe under the following conditions: 5 g trigger force, 3 mm/s test speed, 5 mm test distance, and 5 mm/s return speed. Color analysis was conducted using a MiniScan EZ colorimeter, with results expressed as L* (0 = dark, 100 = light), a* (negative = green, positive = red), and b* (negative = blue, positive = yellow). pH was measured with a PG1400 pH meter, and soluble solids were determined using an ABBE benchtop refractometer, expressed in °Brix. Acidity was analyzed using the titratable acidity method, and water activity was obtained using a LabSwift-aw device. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test at a 95% confidence level. Compared with candies made with sugar, xylitol samples showed no significant differences in hardness, chewiness, gumminess, L*, a*, b*, total acidity, and pH, but had lower water activity and soluble solids. Maltitol samples exhibited similar chewiness, L*, a*, b*, and acidity to the sugar formulation, but presented higher hardness, gumminess, and pH, as well as lower water activity and soluble solids (p < 0.05). Erythritol samples showed similar chewiness, L*, a*, b*, and acidity, but differed significantly with higher hardness, gumminess, and pH, and lower water activity and soluble solids. Based on the results, the gummy candy formulated with xylitol demonstrated the greatest physical and chemical similarity to the conventional candy, except for water activity and soluble solids. Maltitol and erythritol formulations, although presenting more differences, remained within expected values for gummy candies.