Sugar & Sugar Alcohol

Sugar is the general name for sweetener, short chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Sugar is a carbohydrate, and is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are different types of sugar, which originates from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The most commonly used sugar in food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, the hydrolysis of sucrose turns it into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Long chain sugars are called oligosaccharides. Different chemicals may also have a sweet taste, but are not chemically classified as sugars; some of which are used as a low-calorie meal replacement for sugar. These can be described as artificial sweeteners. Sugar alcohol is a type of alcohol that is made from sugar. Sugar alcohols are known as polyols, or also as polyhydric alcohol, polyalcohol, or maybe glycitol. Its structure is a combination of sugar and alcoholmolecules. Sugar alcohol is white in color, solid, and insoluble in water. In the food industry, it is commonly used as a thickener and sweetener.