The Manufacturing Confectioner August 2000 35

This paper is intended for newcomersto the industry, and as a reminder ofthe fundamentals to the rest of us. It should

form the basis for further reading and

investigation.

SUGAR CONFECTIONERY BASICS

We are agreed on these fundamentals:

The confection must not undergo fer-mentation, mold growth or any othermicrobiological spoilage during a longstorage life.

The confection must not undergo anychange in its physical properties duringthis storage.

The confection must have the desirablephysical properties normally associatedwith the particular confection. For exam-ple, it must not be too hard to eat com-fortably; its texture and solubility mustbe pleasing to the palate; and not least itmust be flavored correctly and be sweettasting.

The confection must be pleasing to theeye.This factor is determined by the artand skill of the confectioner.

Let us take each one and examine it in

more detail.

MICROBIOLOGICAL SPOILAGE

While there is no completely clear-cut line,experience indicates that if the solids con-tent is below 75 percent, certain moldsand yeasts will grow in carbohydrate solu-tions and spoilage will result. Some exam-ples are shown in Figure 1. If, on the otherhand, the solids content is above 75 per-cent, then this is unlikely to occur. It mustbe remembered here that when consider-ing sugar confectionery we are not dealingwith a material kept under commerciallysterile conditions, as with canned foodsfor instance, but with a product that mustbe kept under normal nonsterile condi-tions. The confection must be self-pre-serving in its own right since every sourceof contamination cannot be kept awayfrom it.

Equilibrium Relative Humidity

Equilibrium relative humidity (erh) is thepoint at which the product neither gainswater nor loses it to the atmosphere.

ER H is expressed as a percentage andwater activity is expressed as a decimal Aw.

erh 70% = 0.7 Aw

Fundamentals ofSugar ConfectioneryBrian JacksonJackson Associates

Jackson has workedthroughout theworld in the confec-tionery industry,including the U.K.,Europe, India andScandanavia. Hewas employed byCPC (now Cerestar)for 31 years as atechnical advisor.

With experienceteaching at theSolingen Schooland lecturing at sev-eral food technol-ogy conferences,Jackson is now aconsultant.

Brian Jackson