Fundamentals of

Sugar Confectionery
Brian Jackson
Jackson Associates

his paper is intended for newcomers

to the industry, and as a reminder of
the 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 fermentation, mold growth or any other
microbiological spoilage during a long
storage life.
The confection must not undergo any
change in its physical properties during
this storage.
The confection must have the desirable
physical properties normally associated
with the particular confection. For example, it must not be too hard to eat comfortably; its texture and solubility must
be pleasing to the palate; and not least it
must be flavored correctly and be sweet
tasting.
The confection must be pleasing to the
eye. This factor is determined by the art
and 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 content is below 75 percent, certain molds
and yeasts will grow in carbohydrate solutions and spoilage will result. Some examples are shown in Figure 1. If, on the other
hand, the solids content is above 75 percent, then this is unlikely to occur. It must
be remembered here that when considering sugar confectionery we are not dealing
with a material kept under commercially
sterile conditions, as with canned foods
for instance, but with a product that must
be kept under normal nonsterile conditions. The confection must be self-preserving in its own right since every source
of contamination cannot be kept away
from it.

Jackson has worked

throughout the
world in the confectionery industry,
including the U.K.,
Europe, India and
Scandanavia. He
was employed by
CPC (now Cerestar)
for 31 years as a
technical advisor.
With experience
teaching at the
Solingen School
and lecturing at several food technology conferences,
Jackson is now a
consultant.

Equilibrium Relative Humidity

Equilibrium relative humidity (erh) is the
point at which the product neither gains
water nor loses it to the atmosphere.
E R H is expressed as a percentage and
water activity is expressed as a decimal Aw.
erh 70% = 0.7 Aw

Brian Jackson

The Manufacturing Confectioner August 2000 35