Passage I

As a polyol (a natural sweetener) dissolves in water, the temperature of the solution that forms changes over time. Table 1 shows the change in temperature of each of 4 polyol solutions over the first 6 sec of formation. Each solution was formed by dissolving 0. 5 kg of a polyol (either xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, or isomalt) in 1 L of water.

The sweetness of a food containing a polyol is related to the polyol's solubility (maximum percent by mass of the polyol that can dissolve in water kept at a constant temperature). Table 2 shows, for each of the 4 polyols, the relative sweetness and the solubility in water at 4 temperatures.

Tables adapted from H. Mitchell,ed. , Sweeteners and Sugar Alter-natives in Food Technology. ©2006 by Blackwell Publishing.