Sucrose Esters
What it does
Emulsifier.
How it's made
Made from sucrose and fatty acids.
Sucrose esters (sucrose esters of fatty acids) are versatile emulsifiers made by joining ordinary table sugar with fatty acids. They are used in a range of products — from bakery and dairy to drinks — to emulsify, stabilise and modify texture, and their properties can be tuned from water-loving to oil-loving depending on how many fatty acids are attached.
They are produced by reacting sucrose (from sugar cane or beet) with fatty acids or their derivatives in an esterification. By controlling how many of the sugar's hydroxyl groups are joined to fatty acids, manufacturers can make a whole family of emulsifiers with different balances of water- and fat-affinity, suited to different jobs.
The reaction mixture is purified to remove unreacted materials and solvents, and standardised. The result is an emulsifier that is essentially built from two everyday food materials — sugar and fat — and is valued for being effective and adaptable across many product types.
Possible reactions
Generally safe.