Fructose is so efficient in its sweetening power that is common in commercially prepared foods today as sucrose.
It is a sweetener that is found naturally in fresh fruit and honey. Fructose is a monosaccharide, with five carbon furanose ring structure rather than the six carbon pyranose ring structure of glucose.
Its chemical structure has highly reactive molecules which bind to protein molecules. Fructose is known as fruit sugar or laevulose.
Fructose was first extracted from cane sugar more than a century ago, and it’s found in varying amounts in such fruits as apples, grapes, orange and berries.
Fructose is low in glycemic index, meaning that it releases glucose in to the bloodstream slowly. Fructose produces liver glycogen rapidly making it a more efficient supply than other sweetener.
Fructose is the sweetest natural saccharide and is approximately 1-1.5 times as sweet as sucrose. It is also water soluble.
Fructose metabolizes at a slow rate, helping to control insulin surges. It is recommended for diabetics and others seeking to control their carbs.
It is in baked goods because it reacts with amino acids to produce a browning reaction. It is used as a nutritive sweetener in low-calorie beverages.
Fructose can be the sweetener of choice in a weight loss diet. Fructose also seems to make eaters pick foods with less fat.
In dental health studies, less dental plaque was reported with fructose than with sugar.
Some plants including chicory Jerusalem artichokes and dahlias contain appreciable quantities of the polysaccharide inulin, which is a polymer of fructose.
Fructose as a sweetener
