Impact of caramelization on the glass transition temperature of several caramelized sugars. Part II: Mathematical modeling

Further to part I of this study, this paper discusses mathematical modeling of the relationship between caramelization of several sugars including fructose, glucose, and sucrose and their glass transition temperatures (T-g). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used for creating caramelized sugar samples and determining their glass transition temperatures (T-g). UV-vis absorbance measurement and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis were used for quantifying the extent of caramelization. Specifically, absorbances at 284 and 420 nm were obtained from UV-vis measurement, and the contents of sucrose, glucose, fructose, and 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (HMF) in the caramelized sugars were obtained from HPLC measurements. Results from the UV and HPLC measurements were correlated with the Tg values measured by DSC. By using both linear and nonlinear regressions, two sets of mathematical models were developed for the prediction of Tg values of sugar caramels. The first set utilized information obtained from both UV-vis measurement and HPLC analysis, while the second set utilized only information from the UV-vis measurement, which is much easier to perform in practice. As a caramelization process is typically characterized by two stages, separate models were developed for each of the stages within a set. Furthermore, a third set of nonlinear equations were developed, serving as criteria to decide at which stage a caramelized sample is. The models were evaluated through a validation process.