Qualitative Analysis and Quantitative Analysis of Sugars in Maple Syrup by FTIR

Introduction

Maple syrup is a natural sweetener which is made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum). Many virgin sugar maple forests, which provide the raw material for maple syrup, grow in southeast Canada and the northeast United States, and the products produced in those regions account for the larger part of distribution. Food stores handle an abundant range of maple syrups with different colors and tastes to respond to the diverse needs of customers, including products made by mixing corn syrup with maple syrup, as well as low-priced syrup products made by adding the flavor and smell of maple syrup to corn syrup. Corn syrup is a liquid which is produced by using enzymes or acid to decompose corn starch to sugar, and is frequently added to syrup products in the manufacturing process. Pure maple syrup consists of various phenols, flavor components, and sugars. Sucrose makes up 90 % or more of the sugars, and the contents of fructose and glucose are less than 2 %. In contrast, glucose is the main component of corn syrup. In this article, we conducted a qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis of the sugars in maple syrup.

August 19, 2020 GMT