Brown rice syrup
| Brown rice syrup | |
 Rice syrup | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 물엿, 조청 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | mullyeot / jocheong |
| McCune–Reischauer | mullyŏt / choch'ŏng |
| IPA | [mul.ljʌt̚] / [tɕo.tɕʰʌŋ] |
Brown rice (malt) syrup, also known as rice syrup or rice malt, is a
Production
In traditional practices, brown rice syrup is created by adding a small amount of sprouted barley grains (
The modern, commercial preparation of brown rice syrup differs slightly. The ingredients consist of 100% modified rice starch generated by processing brown rice to remove the protein, hemicellulose and lipid fractions. The modification usually involves heat-assisted liquefaction of brown rice with enzyme isolates to produce a solution full of solubilised dextrins (derived from the breakdown of starch) and heat coagulated protein-hemicellulose-lipid complexes. The undesirable components are easily separated and recovered as a separate food stuff or agro-residue, leaving a solution of nearly pure, rice dextrins.[1] A similar product to the rice-dextrin (modified starch) produced by this step is often sold under the name of malto-dextrin, but this commercial product often employs corn or wheat flour as the ingredient rather than rice.
The rice-dextrin solution then undergoes a further heat-assisted saccharification step involving the addition of further enzyme isolates, which convert the complex carbohydrates (rice-dextrins) into a solution rich in the simple carbohydrate maltose. The solution is then partially evaporated by boiling, until the final desired water content of the syrup is achieved. Brown rice syrup generated by this process is protein, fibre (hemicellulose) and lipid free and usually consists of 65–85% maltose, 10–15% maltotriose, 5–20% dextrins and only 2–3% glucose. The final carbohydrate mix of brown rice syrups can be controlled and adjusted by the manufacturer.[1]
The enzymes used in the liquefaction step are usually alpha-amylases derived from bacterial or fungal bioreactors (
The modern industrial production of brown rice syrup does not involve the use of synthetic chemicals in the modification of flour and starch. The enzymes added in processing are naturally derived from organic bioreactors using methods similar to the creation of
Brown rice syrup is readily available in most western Chinese grocery stores as maltose or maltose syrup, in reference to the high maltose content of the sweetener. This product is almost always produced by the industrialized method.
Rice syrup has a shelf life of about a year, and once opened, should be stored in a cool, dry place.
Brown rice syrup is the sweetener found in some drinks, such as rice milk.
Brown rice syrup is produced on a commercial scale by several companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Glycemic index
Brown rice syrup (BRS) has a glycemic index (GI) of 98 which is higher than table sugar (65) and about the same as glucose (100), the sugar used as the baseline to measure other foods against.[2]
Toxic impurities
Brown rice syrup and products containing it were found in a 2012 study[3] to contain significant levels of arsenic, which is toxic to humans. This is presumably due to the high prevalence of arsenic in rice. The authors recommended that regulators establish legal limits for arsenic levels in food, particularly in infant and toddler formulas.
See also
- Amazake – Japanese drink made from fermented rice
- Barley malt syrup – Food additive
- Corn syrup – Syrup made from corn used as food additive
- Glucose syrup – Syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch
- List of syrups
- Yeot – Traditional Korean confectionary
References
External links
Media related to Brown rice syrup at Wikimedia Commons
