Sugar, Special Sugars

Abstract Although commercially sucrose is the most important sugar, there are other special sugars with special applications, among which fructose is the most important. Fructose, a monosaccharide consisting of one‐half of the sucrose molecule but having a sweetness 1.3–1.8 times that of sucrose, constitutes 4–8 wt % of many fruits, where it primarily occurs with glucose (dextrose) and sucrose. Maltose (malt sugar) is a disaccharide comprising two molecules of glucose. Although occurring in some plants and fruits, it is more frequently recognized as a structural component of starch. Lactose (milk sugar) is the only commercially available sugar that is derived from animal rather than plant sources. It is a disaccharide consisting of one galactose and one glucose moiety and has only one‐fifth the sweetening power of sucrose.