Formulating Sweet Sauces

By Cindy Hazen, Contributing Editor

At a recent cocktail party, I overheard someone talking with regret about the cheesecake. It was a diet-buster of the worst sort, because the flavor didnt measure up to expectation. Caloriesa lot of themwere taken in without sufficient reward.

From another corner, I heard a gushing comment about this same dessert topped with a raspberry coulis. This simple addition transformed the cheesecake from ordinary into extraordinary.

Whether creating entrées or desserts, nothing dresses up a dish better than a perfectly paired sauce. Flavor is the obvious asset, but the right sauce also adds layers of sheen, color, texture and, in the case of fruit, and often, a dash of healthy nutrition.

Fruitful toppings

One of the most obvious ways to add nutrition to a sweet sauce is fruit. Whether its something familiar, like apples, or something more exotic, like passion fruit, fruit―used alone or combined with flavorful ingredients―provides a rainbow of sauce options for a range of applications.

Take blueberries, for example. Blueberries add fruit identity, texture, color and flavor excitement to sauces, marinades and salsas by bringing out the best in the foods they dress," says Thomas Payne, industry consultant, U. S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), San Mateo, CA. Blueberries meld beautifully with savory, salty, hot and sweet ingredients."

For inspiration, consider a few flavor-pairing ideas presented by USHBC: blueberry blue cheese, blueberry lavender, blueberry chocolate, blueberry maple, blueberry clove, blueberry curry paste, blueberry brandy and blueberry truffle. Some of the trendy blueberry combos range from ketchups, mustards and seafood sauces to honey-based drizzles and Asian sauces," Payne says.

Frozen and IQF berries can be ground directly into sauce mixes, imparting rich blueberry flavor and showing lots of blueberry in the skin," Payne suggests. They can add intriguing effects like blue swirls and patterns. Blueberry concentrate can be used for sweetening and color. Purée, a blend of berries in a concentrated form up to 45 °Brix, is used to formulate custom pastes. Blueberries can be incorporated in a variety of sauces, fillings and toppings. The natural fruit flavor and color provided by real blueberries are excellent for creating gels."

The fruit can even lend traditional diet-busters a healthy halo. Blueberries are nutritionally dense. They contain 14 grams carbohydrate per 100 grams, plus they are low in calories and virtually fat-free. They contain no cholesterol, are a source of fiber, and contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

In todays sugar-conscious environment, fruit can naturally reduce use of added sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners In fresh blueberries, fructose is 50% and glucose is 49% of the total sugars," Payne says. This pattern is similar to the distribution in sugar, which is about half glucose and half fructose. Per 100 grams, fresh blueberries are 9.96 grams total sugar, 0.11 grams sucrose, 4.97 grams fructose and 4.88 grams glucose."

When formulating sauces, keep in mind fruit can carry a microbial load. In fruit-based sweet sauces, such as a blackberry sauce, microbial culprits are molds and yeasts," cautions Romanna Clark, director R&D, Haliburton International Foods, Ontario, CA. Bacterial spoilage associated with souring berries has been attributed to the growth of lactic-acid bacteria and acetic-acid bacteria. Sodium benzoate is a common antimicrobial active against yeast and bacteria, and the most-effective pH range is 2.5 to 4.0. Cultured dextrose is effective against yeast and mold. In a shelf-stable sweet sauce, the pH range must be less than 4.6 and processed and a packaged in a commercially sterile system."

Sweet solutions

Steve Corson, research chef, Northwest Naturals, Bothell, WA, says most sweeteners tend to work well in sweet sauces, but fruit-based sweeteners are a great option for overall flavor and a clean ingredient label."

Fruit sweeteners can also be labeled as fruit syrup." Commonly, they replace sugar or corn syrup. Some options are mixed-fruit syrup, pear syrup, pineapple syrup and apple syrup, all at about 70 °Brix.

Many sweeteners, like fructose, glucose and sucrose, occur naturally in many foods and plants, so a product designer has alternatives to added sugars. Fructose is a predominant sugar of many fruits and honey, and along with glucose, is one of the two monosaccharides that make up sucrose, or common table sugar," explains Rachel Wicklund, food scientist, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL.

The overall flavor characteristic of a sweet sauce can be distinctive to the sweetener, such as honey for a sweet honey habanero glaze," says Clark.

Sweeteners can bring other attributes to the dish. The product appearance can also be driven by the sweetener," Clark says. For example, corn syrups and fructose can give a shiny glaze appearance, whereas sugar creates a frosted appearance."

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) can be used to economically deliver quality sweetness to sweet sauces. Just like table sugar, HFCS contains both glucose and fructose. HFCS is widely used in the food and beverage industry for its particular sweetness and functional qualities," says Wicklund. Fructose can be used in conjunction with sucrose to help caloric reduction. The synergistic effect between the two sugars creates a sweeter combination, allowing a reduction in total sweetener content."

For reduced-sugar, reduced-calorie or no-sugar-added sweet-sauce formulations, sucralose can be used to deliver an exceptional sweetness profile with zero calories," Wicklund offers. This sweetener is also stable in acidic and heat-processed sauces, and therefore maintains its sweetness profile over the shelf life of the sauce." Combining sucralose with nutritive sweeteners such as crystalline fructose or HFCS can help product developers control the sugars and calories delivered, while also optimizing cost and taste.

Crystalline fructose can work synergistically in sweet sauces to intensify sweet and acidic flavors like chocolate, fruit, cinnamon and caramel, while also reducing inherent bitterness. It is sweeter than sucrose with a relative sweetness of 117 compared to 100 for sucrose.

Many dessert sauces tend to have high total sweetener solids. This is not just a flavor or taste issue. Crystalline fructose can be used to bind water and reduce water activity," Wicklund says. This can be important to microbial control. Crystalline fructoses high solubility lends itself to developing high-sweetener-solid sauce formulations without worrying about grittiness, recrystallization, cloudiness or loss of sweetness," she says.

While the tendency is to think first about sweetness when adding sweeteners, sometimes ingredients need to be added to reduce the perception of sweetness. This may be a consideration for sauces above 50 °Brix. Corn-syrup solids can be used to lower the sweetness of a sauce," says Tonya Armstrong, senior applications scientist, Grain Processing Corporation, Muscatine, IA. She recommends replacing sugar with 3% to 10% corn syrup solids to lower sweetness, build solids and improve cling. Corn syrup solids provide some viscosity and help improve the texture and the mouthfeel of a topping," she says.

Stabilizing sauces

Depending on the desired texture, viscosity and end use, many sauces will require a stabilizing starch or gum. However, remember this one point if using a gum or starch to add viscosity, to improve mouthfeel, to suspend particles or to prevent separation: Sweeteners compete for water..

Armstrong explains that sweeteners impact processing time and temperature in sauces containing starch. A higher level of sugar inhibits starch-granule hydration, because sugar tends to hold onto the water initially. As you heat up that system, starch will pick up the water. In a lower-solids sauce (30 °Brix) the starch may cook out at 180°F, whereas a 75 °Brix sauce may take 200°F to 205°F to get the starch cooked out," she says.

If starch is not cooked properly, the sauce will look cloudy and have an off flavor or masked flavor notes. With any modified starch that is properly processed, the sauce will have good sheen, good clarity and a clean flavor profile," Armstrong says.

Overstabilizing will also affect texture and mouthfeel. It can also raise costs unnecessarily. A lot of people just throw a number of stabilizers in a formulation without considering the effect it has on the final sauce product," Armstrong says. If you have too much starch, it can be too gummy and it can set up into a gel in the bottle."

Products that are made with frozen fruit can be difficult to process, because the fruit releases water as its heated. If you put all of the fruit in the batch up front, the stabilizer system will have access to the water from the fruit," Armstrong continues. If frozen fruit is added at the end of a cook cycle to cool down the batch, there may be free water in the sauce or filling if the stabilizer system cannot absorb all the water coming from the fruit. Unless the stabilizer can grab that water, the sauce may have stability issues, either the next day or down the road as it comes out of the fruit."

Knowing when to add hydrocolloids is critical. We recommend adding a cook-up starch at room temperature with all of your ingredients and cooking the batch to the final processing temperature," Armstrong says. We do not recommend adding granular sugar or fructose to cool down a sauce. When granular sugar is added to a sauce which has been cooked and is over 150°F, this will rupture swollen starch granules and lead to separation in the sauce."

If starches and gums are combined in a sauce, the gum will tend to hydrate first and hold onto the water, and the starch will hydrate later," Armstrong continues. The processing temperature of a starch and/or gum system will be higher than a starch-stabilized sauce."

Coki Fisseha, culinary food scientist, TIC Gums, Belcamp, MD, agrees that the best way to get full hydration of gums is to add the gum first to water before adding other ingredients, such as sugar. Salts can alter the pH of a system, rendering some gums ineffective."

Choosing the right hydrocolloid for a sweet-sauce application depends on factors such as pH and presence of dairy. For low-pH applications, gums such as xanthan, in combination with guar, pectin and/or gum arabic, work well to add suspension and emulsification properties. For sauces that contain dairy, carrageenan, xanthan, pectin and CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) are some of the gums that show improved texture and stability," Fisseha says.

When choosing gums for a specific application, always keep in mind the processing parameters," Fisseha continues. Some gums, such as locust bean gum and agar, need heat to activate, while others may need high shear to activate."

Gums, individually or synergistically, can provide desired effects of mouth-clearing, mouth-coating, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, etc., depending on ratios, pH and processing. Specific blends of gum can provide the desired visual and oral texture," Fisseha explains. Some gums, such as gum arabic and carrageenan, help improve flavor by way of improving the texture. However, texture is more than viscosity."

Its important to have an understanding of the desired texture early in the design process. Fisseha recommends working with a texture expert to ensure achieving the desired end product. Consulting a stabilizer provider can help ease the formulation process, because the variety of gums available can be overwhelming.

Many organic and natural-friendly stabilizers exist. Gums available in organic form are agar, locust bean gum, guar gum, inulin and gum arabic," Armstrong notes. Pectin (high-methoxy, according to our definition of natural), xanthan gum, guar gum, carrageenan, gum arabic, sodium alginate and locust bean gum are all natural."

Armstrong cautions that texture might tend toward stringy or gel-like when using gums alone. We recommend at least 1.5% starch in a sauce to make sure the product is stable during shelf life," she says.

When choosing a starch, acid, heat and shear stability are important. Chocolate sauces and caramel sauces have a higher pH in the range of 5.0 to 6.5," says Armstrong. A fruit topping has a much lower pH, so you have to choose a starch that can handle the low pH of a fruit. For a bottled sauce, you really dont need as much freezer stability, but if you are freezing a prepared entrée, sauce or a dessert, you will need good freezer stability, and refrigerator stability, as well."

Stabilizers affect pour. A modified corn, waxy maize or a tapioca starch, at levels between 1.5% and 3.0% starch, will provide stability and a pourable sauce.

A modified tapioca starch is often used in delicate flavor systems, such as vanilla. For most applications, manufacturers will use one of their standard, in-house starches. The workhorse starches for these applications are either a modified dent corn or a waxy maize starch that can hold up to heat shear, acid and freezer conditions," Armstrong says. The choice of the proper modified corn starch for a sauce will not require a gum if the starch is cooked and processed properly."

In some fruit sauces, its critical to add a gum when the formula contains starch. Pineapple and blueberries have enzymes which can break down starch," Armstrong says. If you do not process blueberries to a high enough temperature to deactivate enzymes, it can cause problems with stability in the sauce."

When formulating a sauce to be used as a drizzle, Armstrong suggests using a level of 1.5% to 2.5% modified food starch and adding a small amount of gum, if necessary. Gums such as xanthan can improve the cling of a drizzle sauce.

Think about that cheesecake with a raspberry coulis. The sauce can bring out the cakes decadence and make its indulgence worthwhile, but only if its willing to embrace the cheesecake. If the sauce slides off the top and doesnt meet flavor or visual expectations, some consumers might think they should have passed on dessert.

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at [email protected].

Photo: U.S. Highbush Blueberry