Exploring Noncentrifugal Sugar as a Partial Replacement for White Sugar in Low Methoxyl Pectin Confectionery Gels: Impacts on Physical and Rheological Properties

Noncentrifugal sugar (NCS) is an unrefined, dark brown sugar containing minerals and plant secondary metabolites, unlike refined white sugar (WS). This study explored using NCS in confectionary jellies as an alternative sugar. We used different concentrations of NCS and WS to prepare low methoxyl pectin (LMP) confectionery gels characterized by their physical and rheological properties along with time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) relaxometry. The strongest LMP gel, with a hardness of 0.94 N, was achieved by substituting 25% of WS with NCS at a low CaCl₂ concentration (0.075 M). Gels with up to 50% WS replaced by NCS showed comparable hardness to standard LMP gels made solely with WS at a 0.15 M CaCl₂ concentration, attributed to NCS's unique constituents. The NCS-WS gel exhibited the shortest T₂ values (139.8 ms) and self-diffusion coefficient values (4.99 × 10-10 m²/s), indicating a denser, more cross-linked structure that restricted water mobility. These findings suggest NCS's complex role in affecting LMP gels' chemical and physical properties, highlighting its potential as a partial WS replacement in LMP gelation-based products, with an additional source of minerals and antioxidants.