Isomalt

[tan319]

Having just read a post that mentioned isomalt, I'm wondering if there is a difference between, say, isomalt that uster sells, and the Pastry 1 product called 'Decomalt' (isomalt)?

Any info is greatly appreciated, as always.

[Steve Klc]

I think it depends who you talk to, Ted. I know what I'd tell you (though it is manufactured by a bunch of different, mostly German, companies, it's all E953) and I have worked with both the Uster isomalt and the ParisGourmet decomalt. It performs identically. When you get a chance, call your sales reps up and ask them--what do they say?--and report back with their responses.

[Pan]

What is isomalt? Decomalt?

[Steve Klc]

http://www.isomaltusa.com/whatis.htm

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/isomalt.html

http://www.theingredients.co.uk/Palatinit%...somalt_Main.htm

On this page Palatinit talks about different designations of isomalt tailored for specific applications:

http://www.theingredients.co.uk/Palatinit%...t_Portfolio.htm

It will be interesting to see if any of this DC, LM or GS gets distributed on the wholesale level in the US. I suspect we've only gotten the traditional (ST) granular stuff and those other formulations will only be sold industrially--to huge candy and chocolate makers.

[tan319]

What is isomalt? Decomalt?

Pan, what I'm primarily interested in isomalt for is in making sugar garnish.

If you use the Adria/ Balaguer formulas for sugar decor/crocants, which have fondant and glucose heated together to temp, flavored and spread on to a silpat and rolled between two silpats to a desired thiness. Or you can put those shards into a food processor and take the resulting powder and put onto a silpat and heat it till it comes back together,then shape, etc.

Which takes away the rolling to thiness process considerably, I've read.

A percentage of isomalt into that formula will help protect the sugar against humidity , which is what I'm interested in.

I also think people doing competitions are using it for the same reasons even though I don't think they're using that formula. Usually typical sugar decor isn't edible.

The aforemention method is.

[Pan]

Why isn't typical sugar decor edible?

[Steve Klc]

It's all technically edible Pan--with or without isomalt--I believe Ted meant most traditional sugar work for showpieces wasn't usually meant to be eaten--pulled and blown sugar is like glass and can break into sharp edges and the same thing with pastillage--it's technically edible but bone dry, hard, sharp edges if broken and in some recipes you can have small percentages of an acid or vinegar.

If you haven't yet reformed a sugar or caramel powder back into a tuile Ted you're missing out on something special.

[tan319]

Steve could ( and will) probably answer this with more knowledge, but I'm guessing it has citric or tartaric acid in it, for one.

I've read that it isn't, never went down that road myself

[tan319]

There you go, Pan!

Steve, yes, will be doing it soon.

I was talking about the traditional stuff.

[Steve Klc]

Yeah, but even tartaric and citric acids are perfectly edible. Tartaric acid is in wine, it's in tamarind; citric acid is in, well, lemons and other tart fruits but if you read labels you'd probably be surprised how many things it is in. And many of the old-school French sugar artists, the guys who never wore gloves, just squeezed some lemon juice into their sugar and off they went pulling or blowing.

[tim]

My wife uses isomalt to make clear windows for gingerbread houses. She cooks the isomalt with a little water to 280 to 330 degrees F. and pours the windows.

We purchased a supply last year that worked perfectly. Last week she made windows and noticed that the isomalt began to color at 280 degrees F.

I assume that the isomalt absorbed some humidity in the last year and this affects the properties when heated.

Any thoughts?

Tim

[Sebastian]

Isomalt has about as low a hygroscopicity as you can get with a crystalline sugar alcohol. I don't recall the exact numbers, but it's very, very resistant to moisture absorption. In all liklihood, the isomalt that she's using has a moisture content of 8-9% to begin with as isomalt is actually a blend of two components, both of which have a water of crystallization bound inside their crystalline structures. I'm not sure why they'd begin to discolor - potentially contaminated with something?

[GlorifiedRice]

I could be wrong, but isnt Isomalt a mixture of surplus polyols?

Or is that HSH? If it is Isomalt then maybe you got a different result this year cause of higher levels of one polyols then the other.

[tim]

I could be wrong, but isnt Isomalt a mixture of surplus polyols?

Or is that HSH? If it is Isomalt then maybe you got a different result this year cause of higher levels of one polyols then the other.

←

Glory,

I don't know what polyol or HSH means. I thought it was clear that we used the SAME isomalt that had been stored.

In this case, it may be caramelization of the isomalt. While isomalt is not hygroscopic, the supplier thinks that may be the problem.

Tim

Edited October 26, 2007 by tim (log)

[HQAntithesis]

For all effects, due to the very low moisture content of isomalt, it doesn't have a shelf life. I'm not sure about it's structure molecularly but I remember reading somewhere that it colours at 190-200C. Then again, perhaps it's subject to the same rules as cooking sugar, where if you cook it for a longer period of time it will start to yellow even without reaching normal colouring stages.

If you like, try this recipe (the glucose is added to prevent the poured isomalt from becoming hazy after absorbing moisture):

1kg isomalt

100g glucose

Water (enough to cover bottom of casserole with depth around 1/2 cm)

In a casserole with the water, pour 1/3 of the isomalt and cook till dissolved.

Add another 1/3 of the isomalt, cook till dissolved.

Add remaining 1/3, cook till 170C. Add glucose (brought to boil in microwave)

Cook to 170C again, pour as desired.

For a smoother appearance on the surface, hit the surface of the isomalt with a blowtorch immediately after pouring (it's really amazing how much more glasslike it is even if you don't see any bubbles).

[GlorifiedRice]

I could be wrong, but isnt Isomalt a mixture of surplus polyols?

Or is that HSH? If it is Isomalt then maybe you got a different result this year cause of higher levels of one polyols then the other.

←

Glory,

I don't know what polyol or HSH means. I thought it was clear that we used the SAME isomalt that had been stored.

In this case, it may be caramelization of the isomalt. While isomalt is not hygroscopic, the supplier thinks that may be the problem.

Tim

←

Isomalt IS a Polyol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyol

But I was wrong, it is HSH that is the mixture of several different or surplus Polyols...

"Hydrogenated starch hydrosylate (HSH) is a mixture of several sugar alcohols (a type of sugar substitute). Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates were developed by a Swedish company in the 1960's. In the United States, Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are provided by three manufacturers The HSH family of polyols is an approved food ingredient in Canada, Japan, and Australia. HSH sweeteners provide 40 to 90 percent of the sweetness of sugar."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenated_starch_hydrosylate

Sorry...

Edited October 26, 2007 by GlorifiedRice (log)

[Baggy]

Please don’t think this is out of turn, but could it be a problem with the oven thermostat or the thermometer? I find that both my oven and (less expensive) digital thermometers drift over a period of months.

Just a thought.

[GlorifiedRice]

BTW- Isomalt does not caramelize. At least its not supposed to. Was it BULK Isomalt? Did you get it from the internet? Maybe it was contaminated by another Polyol when they packed it.

As a side note: you cannot crystalize ginger with Erythritol (another polyol)

[GlorifiedRice]

I could be wrong, but isnt Isomalt a mixture of surplus polyols?

Or is that HSH? If it is Isomalt then maybe you got a different result this year cause of higher levels of one polyols then the other.

←

Glory,

I don't know what polyol or HSH means. I thought it was clear that we used the SAME isomalt that had been stored.

In this case, it may be caramelization of the isomalt. While isomalt is not hygroscopic, the supplier thinks that may be the problem.

Tim

←

I hate to even imply this cause people get defensive about cleanliness issues when everyone has some pests in their houses...

BUT, Is it possible that some critter got in the place it was stored?

Im saying this cause in spite of my best cleaning I always bring in a bag of rice from a certain store and a month later I have moths.

Everything Ive read this am says Isomalt is colorless and does not caramelize so something contaminated it.

[Baggy]

I stand corrected.

Would prolonged exposure to low levels of acidity cause some breakdown derivatives that then brown?

[GlorifiedRice]

PALATINIT of America, Inc.

2740 Route 10 West, Suite # 205

Morris Plains, New Jersey 07950

Phone +1 973 539 6644

Fax +1 973 326 9508

info.usa@palatinit.com

Thats the USA distributor of ISOMALT maybe you could call and ask

[Sebastian]

Sugar alcohols (or polyols - polyhydric alcohols) are essentially sugars that have had the ability to caramelize (reduce) taken away from them by replacing their 'reducing' group with an 'alcohol group" (in chemical terms, it's an oxygen and a hydrogen, or an -OH group, which is referred to as an alcohol group - hence the name 'sugar alcohol').

This -OH group makes it impossible for the sugar to participate in browning (mailliard) reactions such as caramalization. This is the reason sugar alcohols don't brown during cooking, or make very good sugar free caramels, toffees, etc. They physically can't do it.

Isomalt has EXCELLENT cold flow stability and has a very low hygroscopicity, which is why it's also used quite a bit for hard candy's. Many of these types of candies are fruit flavored, which means they're often combined with weak acids (such as citric to enhance fruitiness). They're very stable.

If you're seeing discoloration, my strong suspicion is that you've got something present that you don't know about. Your pan might have been dirty? Perhaps your using well water and you've got higher than 'normal' iron levels? There are some very unusual organic-metal reactions that are possible, but any time i've seen them occur with polyols they've taken on a greyish/green appearance in color and involved an aluminum metal - perhaps you've got a unique metallurgy in your pot that's causing some odd organic/metal complexing occurring...

Now, if you have enough acid and enough heat present, you might be able to get some unusual behaviour, but i seriously doubt you've got that strength of acid at home, and if you do and you're using it on your cooktop stove, let me know and i'll promptly come over and take it from you 8-) as what you're doing is very dangerous!

Cargill is the other US distributor/producer of Isomalt.

[pooleparty]

Cargill's site states that Isomalt is heat stable at temperatures up to 160C (320F), which implies that at higher temperatures it may discolor. http://tinyurl.com/2fg7mb

I think that Baggy's comment is valid. Perhaps, the problem is not with the Isomalt, but with the candy thermometer. It's not wildly out of the realm of possibility that it is reading 280F (the point at which you noted discoloration), when in fact the actual temperature is much higher.

My own experience with Isomalt is rather limited, but I did find that it does in fact discolor.

I tried microwaving small quantities of it last December to use for gingerbread house windows. It was my first experiment with boiled sugar (real or synthetic).

I microwaved the Isomalt with a little water (10:1 ratio) in a Pyrex measuring cup and then poured the hot liquid into a waiting gingerbread piece. The result was a remarkably crystal clear window. While admiring my handiwork I accidentally broke the gingerbread piece, so I decided to pour another one.

However, by this time the Isomalt had hardened. Since I had limited quantities of the stuff, I just microwaved the Pyrex again for 90 seconds. However, I got distracted by the phone or something else and the Isomalt hardened all over again. I microwaved it for a third time and found that by this time the Isomalt looked a little amber colored in the Pyrex cup. I don't know whether this was because the temperature had exceeded 160C (I didn't use a thermometer) or if it was because it had been heated multiple times. In any case, the finished window was still beautiful, just not absent of color.

I did find that after a week or so the windows went cloudy. This was something that I had not expected. Perhaps I will try adding glucose as HQAntithesis suggested.

My two cents...

[iii_bake]

I worked with three batches of isomalt today and yet not successful.

I got thiny bubbles , not on the surface but the bottom....and within hours...it turned clouldy.

I used the silpat the smooth side but still i got the pattern mark on the finsihed product.

Do need help on how to correct this?

I also saw a presentation with a square with sharp edge bubble isomalt...and wonder how to make such a cut.

SOS please

iii

[HQAntithesis]

Isomalt, poured hot, onto silicon will cause those bubbles to appear. The idea is to pour it when it's as cold as possible but still manageable. You may still get bubbles but a quick pass over with a blow torch will cause those to disappear. Poured isomalt or sugar tends to take on the appearance of the contact surface too, so it may be worth getting something like this. I suppose it's just a heat resistance piece of vinyl but I'm not too sure. I do know though, that if you're going to do that, that you really want a piece of baking paper between the vinyl and the table/workspace... I learned that the hard way .