Why is sugar added to food products?
1. To give the sweetness taste. 2. It also serves as a nutritive additive (to give calorie) though consume too much sugars is never be good. 3. At the same time, it gives the sensory characteristic of “fullness”. For example, you will find that an orange juice taste better if we add sugar, compare to just add a sugar substituent. 4. Sugar will also helps in providing a gel to certain food product. For example, a jam (food preserve) cannot form a firm gel without adding sufficient amount of sugar. 5. Also, sugar is a natural preservative. Again in jam, with high level of sugar (about 60% or higher), it will create a system that lower the “free water” (so called water activity) thus unfavour the growing of spoilage bacteria.
