scott123 can you explain Poly?

[Heidi3]

Please would you talk to us about poly....I understand it and use it now...but can not explain it like you do that is for sure!

please would you please honor us with a clear explaination of it? some folks here are asking and it is new to all of us

thanks baby boy

[Richt]

Re: scott123 can you explain Poly?

I dont know what poly is! Apart from a common name for a pet parrot!

[Heidi3]

Re: scott123 can you explain Poly?

it is awesome stuff Rich that gives sugar free foods a much better feel in your mouth!!!!

[scott123]

Re: scott123 can you explain Poly?

(reprinted from the Flourless Chocolate Cake thread)

Ever wonder why your brownies aren't chewy? Why your cookies are dry/brittle? Why your cake isn't moist?

It's because splenda doesn't provide the texture of sugar. For the texture of sugar, one turns to polyd.

Poly'D' (the original recipe contained a typo), is short for polydextrose.

Polydextrose is sugar that's been treated with heat/acid. This processing causes it act like fiber in the body. It still retains a lot of the textural components of sugar, though. Gooeyness, chewiness, crispiness, moistness can all be achieved by using polyd. Non erythritol sugar alcohols like maltitol, isomalt (diabetisweet), xylitol and sorbitol all provide the same sugary texture, but, for some people, polyd has less tendency to cause digestive issues. There are a handful of people that are sensitive to it, but that is usually resolved by developing a tolerance. Occasionally you will find the odd person that can't tolerate it in any form. Thank goodness this group is miniscule. Regardless of levels of sensitivity, very large amounts aren't recommended (>150 g day).

Besides being less laxating than most sugar alcohols, polyd has a considerably low glycemic index. Some research has shown it to be zero. Along with have little to no glycemic impact, the carb impact is miniscule as well. With sugar alcohols such as maltitol, some people count the carbs, some don't, some count half- there's a lot of gray area. With polyd, it's cut and dry- less than 14 net carbs per 180 g cup. If you're a strict Atkins devotee (I'm not when it comes to counting sweeteners) polyd is zero carbs.

It is a yellowish white powder with about 10% the sweetness of sugar. You don't use it for sweetness, you use it for texture. It can be purchased from Honeyville (don't forget the discount code) or Netrition. Unless you live near Honeyville or Netrition, you will not find it locally.

Polyd is especially useful when combined with erythritol. Erythritol has a very strong cooling effect, but this cooling effect only occurs when it's undissolved. Polyd is a crystallization inhibitor- it's indispensible for keeping the erythritol dissolved.

The last area where polyd beats out sugar alcohols is price. At $2 a lb, that's a lot cheaper than any sugar alcohol. Even after adding a lbs. worth of splenda to make up for the missing sweetness, it's still cheaper than any sugar alcohol on the market. When you bring in the synergy of three sweeteners, that price drops even more.

I just learned recently that polyd has a synergy with splenda. This is invaluable for a chocolate based recipe such as this. The bitterness of chocolate requires quite a lot of sweetener. When you get into larger amounts the metallic aftertaste of splenda can become quite pronounced. Splenda by itself is notariously problematic in chocolate desserts. Polyd helps, as do other sweeteners such as Sweet One ace-k, erythritol and stevia.

[Heidi3]

Re: scott123 can you explain Poly?

thanks so much for that Scott I had no idea where it was!!!

[Elizellen]

Re: scott123 can you explain Poly?

Thanks for asking that question, Heidi.
I was wondering what to use it for!!
I tried to source it a year or so ago after seeing it mentioned in a recipe and one company in UK I found via google sent me a 'sample' of one kilogram of it when I contacted them asking for prices and retail outlets selling it!!
I have only used it so far to make the nut brittle recipe that called for polydextrose (using it half/half with xylitol) and it does taste like toffee according to my DH. (He is the one with a sweet tooth in our family!) And it did harden like real nut brittle too.

I wonder if it would work as the topping on a creme brulee and caramelise like sugar does? Must try it some time.