I N G R E D I E N T
BAKERY REVIEW
Naturally
Sweet For quite some years, sugar has been blamed for the many health related problems that affect our lives and lifestyles.
T
he popular belief is that eating too much sugar or intake of good amount of sugar in diet can cause diabetes and obesity. But according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), eating too much sugar alone doesn’t cause diabetes, but it may be a contributing factor in some cases.
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However, though we know sugar doesn’t directly cause Type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to get it if you are overweight. You gain weight when you take in more calories than your body needs, and sugary foods and drinks contain a lot of calories. The sugar doesn’t cause Type I diabetes.
There is no denying the fact that the role of sugar in the bakery and confectionery industry, despite the emergence of sugarless cakes and desserts, is still all pervasive. Sugar plays a crucial role towards the taste, texture, and even in the appearance of baked products. Despite the powerful ‘health conscious wave’ propelled by frequent overseas travel, lifestyle changes, growing impact of media, and the rise in disposable incomes among the middle and upper middle income segments of our urban population in the recent times, sugar still remains one of the chief ingredients of India’s bakery industry. However, at the same time, the usage of natural sweeteners also seems to be on the rise in the industry. With health consciousness in the post-modern Indian society gaining ground, there has been lots of talk regarding usage of natural sweeteners as sugar substitutes in the country’s food & beverage industry, which of course includes India’s bakery and confectionery industry too. Raw honey, maple syrup, dates, stevia and coconut sugar are some examples of natural sweeteners, which can reduce the usage of sugar and artificial sweeteners in dessert preparations.
The Sweet Leaf Stevia, also called meethi tulsi in Hindi, is a natural, plant-based sweetener with very less calories. Stevia, a wonderful natural sugar substitute, is extracted from the leaves of the plant species named Stevia rebaudiana. This plant is native to Paraguay in South America. The active compounds of stevia are steviol glycosides (mainly stevioside and rebaudioside), which have up to 150 times the sweetness of sugar, are heat-stable, pHstable, and not fermentable. Despite being so sweet, stevia doesn’t adversely affect the blood sugar levels of humans. The beginning of the usage of stevia rebaudiana can be traced to the Guarani peoples of South America, and to 1500 years back. The stevia rebaudiana leaves have been in usage in Brazil and Paraguay for many centuries, for the purpose of sweetening local teas and medicines. Stevia can be found in three forms, which are Whole Leaf Stevia, Stevia Leaf Extracts, and Altered Stevia. These different types of stevia are based on levels of stevia’s processing. The whole leaf stevia is the least processed
June-July ’22
