Isomalt is a substitute sugar made from beet sugar and is edible. It is used in the weight loss and diabetic food industries. Isomalt is unique among replacement sugars because it retains almost all of the physical properties of real sugar with added benefits for sugar artists, cake decorators and pastry chefs. These benefits include:
1. Increased resistance to humidity therefore, less sticky to work with and less prone to clouding.
2. Better resistance to crystallization.
3. To keep Isomalt crystal clear use distilled water. Minerals in tap water can cause a yellowing effect when exposed to high temperatures, so avoid using tap or bottled spring waterr.
4. Add only enough water to make the Isomalt look like damp sand, (the consistency of making a sand castle on the beach) approximately five ounces by weight for every three pounds of Isomalt.
5. Use stainless steel pots and utensils or silicone utensils for stirring. Do not use a wooden spoon, which will also cause the Isomalt to yellow. Wood absorbs the yellowing minerals.
6. Do not cook less than three pounds of Isomalt at a time. Cooking small amounts of Isomalt causes hot spots in your mixture and may result in yellowing.
7. Cook Isomalt on an appropriately sized burner. Electric burner should be slightly smaller than bottom of pot. When cooking with gas ensure that the flame does not creep up the side of the pot but remains on the bottom of the pot only. These precautions prevent overheating of the sides of the cooking pot, which can cause premature cooking and yellowing. Using an induction range is the best way to cook Isomalt because it renders heat only to the bottom of the pot.
8. It is not necessary to wash down the side of the pot when cooking Isomalt. Simply keep a lid on the pot or make a tent of foil, which will create an internal steam preventing crystallization on the pot sides.
9. Test your candy thermometer. Many of them read inaccurately. Test by bringing water to a boil and inserting thermometer which should read 212 degrees F. at sea level.
10. Cook Isomalt to 338 degrees F. Take off heat at 333 degrees and place bottom of pot in water to stop the cooking process. Allow the pot to stay in water only until the hissing stops, approx. 5 seconds.
11. Pour the Isomalt into a Pyrex or stainless steel pitcher in a 275 - 300 degree oven and let rest for 15 minutes. You will have no bubbles and pure, clear liquid sugar to pour all day.
12. Allow unused Isomalt to cool, and store in a microwave safe container with a tight fitting lid or allow to cool in blocks and wrap in multiple layers of plastic wrap. Place a silica gel packet on top of Isomalt before closing container. You can store cooked Isomalt for two years, providing the container is well sealed.
13. Never store cooked or uncooked Isomalt in a refrigerator or freezer. The high humidity will ruin and even dissolve finished sugar pieces.
1. Add distilled water to Isomalt and stir until it is evenly distributed and resembles wet sand.
2. Place a pot of Isomalt on a burner set at high and stir gently ensuring that you do not cause the crystals to stick to the side of the pan. Stir by pulling the crystals from the outside in in order to help the crystalline Isomalt melt and turn into a liquid.
3. When the Isomalt mixture comes to a boil do not stir. Place lid on pot. Check the temperature periodically to make sure the Isomalt does not burn.
4. Fill a sink with 3 inches of cold water.
5. When the temperature reaches 333 degrees F. remove pot from heat and carefully plunge the base of the pot into the cold water to prevent the Isomalt from cooking further. The temperature will rise to approximately 338 degrees F. during this process.
6. Leave the pot in the water just until the hissing sounds stops then return the pot to the burner set in the off position
7. Add gel, powder or liquid food color when Isomalt cools to about 310 degrees. Higher temperatures may change the color and make it less bright and vivid. If using a paste or gel color, drop the color on top of the Isomalt and stir the food coloring slowly with a long handled spatula as it will bubble profusely so keep your face away from the pot and please, wear disposable gloves. Keep stirring color on top of Isomalt until the bubbling stops. It is now safe to stir the food coloring thoroughly to incorporate it throughout the entire Isomalt mixture. Stir until an even color is achieved.
1. Pour the melted Isomalt into a Pyrex or stainless steel pitcher and place in a 275 - 300 degree oven and let rest for a minimum of 15 minutes. Allowing Isomalt to rest in a hot oven enables the air to rise to the surface of your mixture and will result in a bubble free mixture.
2. Isomalt can be held in an oven up to three hours before it begins to turn yellow.
3. The lower the oven holding temperature, the longer it can be held without discoloration.
4. To prevent discoloration, keep the oven at 250 degrees F. The mixture will be thick. Place the pitcher in a microwave oven and melt the Isomalt in 20-second bursts until it is thin enough to be poured.
5. At this stage, the Isomalt may be held in a semi-melted state under a 250-watt heat lamp.
1. Isomalt, in its uncooked form, will absorb moisture from the air and should be kept in a tightly sealed container.
2. Uncooked Isomalt has a shelf life of two years or more if stored correctly.
3. Place a few silica gel packets into the Isomalt storage container, to extend shelf life and to prevent moisture from making the Isomalt sticky.
1. Cooked Isomalt that is exposed to humid conditions will absorb moisture from the air and become sticky. The sticky surface will eventually dry out as humidity conditions change, but this sticky layer will re-solidify. Once this occurs the Isomalt will lose its shine, then become cloudy and will eventually re- crystallize – which renders it unusable.
2. The success of storing cooked Isomalt is to protect it from humidity. One of the most effective methods to achieve this is to use Food Safe Silica Gel Packets. Silica gel is a powerful de-humidifying chemical that absorbs moisture out of the air.
3. Placing the correct amount of silica gel packets in an airtight container with your cooked Isomalt is the best way to keep your sugar projects bright and shiny.
1. The best way to re-melt cooked Isomalt is in a microwave oven.
2. Place the container of Isomalt in the center of oven cavity and microwave for three to five minute intervals on the MEDIUM setting. As the Isomalt melts, use shorter bursts of microwave cooking.
3. Do not melt Isomalt on a high setting.
4. When you see bubbles rising in the Isomalt mixture from two thirds of the way down, to the top, you are close to 300 degrees F. Remove, stir and place in an oven set at 275 – 300 degrees.
1. Induction ranges cook by creating a strong magnetic field that passes through the cooking vessel and directly heats the metal very efficiently. Induction cooking is the very best way to prepare Isomalt because it only heats at the point of contact with the bottom of the pot. This ensures that the sides of your cooking pot do not over heat and you will also be able to cook Isomalt faster since induction is much more efficient than gas or electric burners.
2. Cooking vessels used on induction ranges must be made of a "ferrous" metal like iron and steel. Non-ferrous materials like aluminum, copper and Pyrex are not usable on an induction cooker.
3. If a magnets sticks to the bottom of a pot, it can be used on an induction cooker.
1. The large manufacturers of Isomalt make their products for the confectionery, baking and weight
loss industries.
2. Many Isomalt products are blended with other polyols in order to create mixtures
 that work better in large mechanized operations.
3. Many retailers of Isomalt buy and distribute these mixtures assuming that they are selling 100% Isomalt products. A blended Isomalt mixture is inclined to yellow prematurely and can also be less resistant to humidity. For sugar artists and pastry chefs, pure Isomalt is by far a superior product to use when making artistic sugar displays, gems and sculpture. Sugar Arts Institute sells pure Isomalt in quantities of 3-pound bags (the minimum recommended melting weight). Buy your pure Isomalt from Sugar Arts Institute. We will even cook and color it for you! Call for more information 717 721 5064.
Posted on 12/07/2017 at 12:00 AM
