Applications

Jellies and Jams

The sweet fruitiness of jams, jellies, and preserves can perk up a slice of bread or bagel and add a delightful surprise to a filled doughnut. Jellies should spread easily across toast yet remain semi-firm when used as pastry fillings. Jams and preserves should exemplify the taste and texture of the fruits from which they are made.

Malic and fumaric acids by Bartek help formulators to attain the flavor, color, and other organoleptic properties that make for great jams, jellies, and preserves. These applications must not become overly sweet at the risk of downplaying their fruit character. Increasing the acidity of a formulation balances sweetness and creates a stronger, more natural, and true-to-fruit flavor.

The pH of most pectin-based gels is close to 3.2, a range in which malic acid provides better buffering capacity than citric acid, making it a preferred choice for acidulant in jams, jellies, and preserves. Malic acid is also useful in gelling agents to reduce rates of sucrose inversion and to prevent acid hydrolysis. The high solubility of malic acid helps to achieve excellent clarity in jellies. Furthermore, malic acid rapidly dissolves in cold water, making it useful in an antimicrobial spray or dip.

Fumaric acid is also useful to aid gel formation and can replace citric acid without significantly changing the acidity of an application. Because fumaric acid provides more sourness per unit weight than citric acid, the amount of dry mix materials can be reduced, and cost savings realized, when using it.

The levels of malic and fumaric acid needed for jams, jellies, and preserves will vary depending on the desired sourness and the acidity of the fruits used. Add them toward the end of the production process to reap their benefits.

Possibilities Include:

• Jam
• Jelly
• Fruit preserves
• Chutney
• Relish

Applications

Dressings and Sauces

Whether it’s for prepared salads, marinades, or condiments, a hint of acidity brightens and intensifies the savory character of dressings and sauces. Bartek’s malic acid gives a boost to the initial burst of spicy and fragrant notes in these applications and enhances their aftertaste by extending the experience of flavors and aromas.

For tomato-based condiments such as ketchup, malic acid is a GRAS organic acid and can be used at levels up to 0.7% in compliance with FDA Standards of Identity (184.1069 – CFR). Our testing shows that, at pH 3.0-3.5, malic acid has greater buffering capacity, and therefore less pH variation, than citric and acetic acid, making it an excellent acidity regulator. Add malic acid to red pasta sauces and barbecue sauces to make them richer and more consistent in texture, flavor, and color.

Additionally, Bartek’s fumaric acid can be used to stabilize and enhance flavor in dry mixes for sauces and dressings. Fumaric acid is naturally non-hygroscopic, meaning that it will not take on moisture from the air. As such, dry mixes formulated with fumaric acid resist caking and hardening during storage.

Possibilities Include:

• Teriyaki sauce
• Salad dressings
• Ketchup
• Barbecue sauces
• Potato and macaroni salad
• Seafood salads
• Powdered mixes