Thermodynamic behavior of erythritol in aqueous solutions and in gelatine gels and its quantification

As crystallization of erythritol can cause a sandy mouth-feel in sugar-free products, strategies to avoid crystallization or adaption of food formulation should be elucidated. However, until now erythritol crystallization was only quantified in aqueous solutions, but not in model food systems. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a simple method for the quantification of phase transition in various systems. However, no methods for the quantification of crystallization from aqueous systems based on DSC have been published until now. In the present study DSC was found to be suitable for the quantification of crystallization using supersaturated aqueous solutions of erythritol and erythritol containing gelatine gels for the first time. The developed method was validated by comparing the crystallization values determined by gravimetric measurement of erythritol crystals and the values obtained by DSC. No significant differences (p < 0.05) have been obtained between the results of the two methods if an appropriate design of measurements was applied. Additionally, the method was adapted to gelatine gels to elucidate the transferability to model food systems. Hence, the method is suitable for quantification of the amount of erythritol crystals present in aqueous solutions and gels, respectively.