Effect of sugar composition on the water sorption and softening properties of cookie

In order to elucidate the effect of sugar composition on the water sorption and softening properties of cookie, three types of sugar composition (sugar alone, sugar-trehalose, and sugar-sorbitol) were employed as an ingredient of cookie, and softening temperature (Ts) of the cookie samples, adjusted to various water contents, was investigated using thermal rheological analysis. Ts decreased linearly with increasing water content of the cookie samples. At each water content, Ts of samples was higher in the order of sugar-trehalose > sugar alone > sugar-sorbitol. On the other hand, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the sugar and/or sugar alcohol mixtures used for cookie preparation was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. A linear relationship was found between anhydrous Ts of the cookie samples and anhydrous Tg of the sugar and/or sugar alcohol mixtures. These results suggest that sugar composition plays an important role in the softening properties of cookie samples.