Uses:
– Substitute for normal glucose syrup in hard candy production
– Lower viscosity than glucose solution
– Candy produced with HMCS is less sticky
– Used in frozen desserts due to low freezing point
– Used in brewing to increase throughput and reduce haze
Health effects:
– Increasing use as a food additive due to negative reputation of HFCS
– High-maltose syrups from corn are gluten-free
– Wheat or barley based syrups may contain small amounts of gluten
– Unclear effects of gluten in celiac disease
– Lack of verification for certain health claims
See also:
– List of syrups
References:
– Bakery products: science and technology by Y. H. Hui
– Glucose syrups: technology and applications by Peter Hull
– Enzymes in food processing: fundamentals and potential applications by Parmjit S. Panesar
– Ingredient interactions: effects on food quality by Andrew McPherson
– Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering by Yiu H. Hui
High-maltose corn syrup (HMCS) is a food additive used as a sweetener and preservative. The majority sugar is maltose. It is less sweet than high-fructose corn syrup and contains little to no fructose. It is sweet enough to be useful as a sweetener in commercial food production, however. To be given the label "high", the syrup must contain at least 50% maltose. Typically, it contains 40–50% maltose, though some have as high as 70%.
By using β-amylase or fungal α-amylase, glucose syrups containing over 50% maltose, or even over 70% maltose (extra-high-maltose syrup) can be produced.p. 465 This is possible because these enzymes remove two glucose units, that is, one maltose molecule at a time from the end of the starch molecule.