Baking with Isomalt

Read that wiki agin.

Full of fiber, isomalt is great for nice strong sugar sculpture.

Will the side effects be tolerable when other substitutes are so versitile?

mimi

I am totally going to go look into this! I run a healthy cookie business and am always looking for different ideas to keep them healthy. I have had lots of diabetics contact me for my cookies but they are not sugar free. Isomalt may be my answer! I'll let you know if I find out any useful info (maybe you can do the same for me!!)

I would be EXTREMELY cautious in recommending anything to diabetics unless it's SPECIFICALLY approved by a diabetic institute and not just by the people marketing it. 

I kept coming across this word isomalt in these forums, but didn't know what it was.  Did a quick search.  half the calories of sugar - but derived from sugar beets - makes me think that if you give it to diabetics you;re taking a chance. 

How is it made? Sounds like very much an industrial product - these substitutes are rarely good for you.  They say it has some side effects. 

Also if you intend to make cookies for diabetics, you have to be extremely careful - or your diabetic clients do - because it's not just the sugar they can;t have.  There are plenty of things diabetics can't have.  Raisins, dates, dried fruits like that are full of sugar. Apple juice is full of sugar.  Sugar free jam is full of sugar - you have to boil down the fruit a lot and the natural sugar in the fruit is concentrated in jam.  Diabetics can't eat it.  Diabetics have to be extremely wary of fruit - it must be weighed and most fruits are too sweet for them.  Many diabetics mistakenly think that if they don;t eat "sugar" they'll be ok.  Carbohydrates come in different forms, and they have to limit those.  If the cookies have lots of nuts, there are still carbohydrates.  Yes, they can get more chick pea carbohydrates than flour carbohydrates, but they are still not limitless.  I would be VERY wary of marketing something for diabetics without warning that they have to weigh them and calculate them into your daily allotment of carbohydrates. More cookie means less bread or pasta or potato.  Is it a good trade-off? especially trading an industrially produced carbohydrate that has not been around long enough to have been thoroughly tested, for some wholesome and nutritious carbohydrates, like whole wheat bread or a potato.  Once in a while of course it would be ok, but then, once in a while a small piece of cake - real cake - won't do that much damage.  It's that when we say this is ok for diabetics, the natural tendency (and who can blame them) might be to eat a lot of them. And if they;re full of substitutes, they won;t be very satisfying and will probably want to eat more.

I have a good friend who is a diabetic, and she's very careful.  I learned a lot from her.  As a carbohydrate lover, i have great compassion for diabetics and their plight.  Hope they come up with a cure soon.  But don;t make them think they can eat what will kill them. 

I'd also like to point out (my employer/client is diabetic) that different diabetics have varying tolerances for specific ingredients (ie, potatoes may be a worse offender than rice for one person, and one may tolerate fruit better than another).  It's pretty damn hard to make a "diabetic food" that caters to ALL of them - especially sweets (this, incidentally, may be why they're in demand in your area).  I would NOT market your cookies as suitable for diabetics without lots of caveats...you don't want to be responsible for anyone being ill and you certainly don't want sued (even if the lawsuit is frivolous).  

I have worked with Isomalt quite a bit for pastry decor, but absolutely can not picture baking with it.  Isomalt does not dissolve in water the way normal sugar does and it also doesn't caramelize the same.  Those are two reasons it is great for decor, but not necessarily baking.  Keep in mind that sugar plays an important role in cookies and cakes that has more to do than just sweetness.  Speaking of which, Isomalt doesn't taste as sweet as sugar.  I think there is a good reason that other sugar substitutes are more widely used.

reyesryanmjaube:

I concur with Jellly. I have used Isomalt as a garniture, but never as a baking ingredient. I am Diabetic Type 2, but I avoid all artificial sweeteners, as they are poison! I will never use nor ingest any artificial sweeteners, but some people use: 100% Pure Xylitol, Trehalose, 100% Pure Fructose, and Lo Han. [Blood Sugar Support Articles, Sugar Substitutes] I have tried Agave Nectar, and might even try Date Sugar.

I guess, it is safe to take isomalt but not often especially to diabetic ones. My mother is a diabetic and she's also very wary and careful to what she had to eat.

My friend gave me some banana called Saba, believe me, it is good to eat especially for diabetic person. :)

Hi,

 I have had isomalt in the bakery since it arrived in the market. From day one I have been told by manufactures, Reps, sales persons,

that the biggest side effect of consuming isomalt is diarrhea. Especially young and old.

I am not up on the current retail products. My 50# bags come directly from Germany.

???? would like to know if the formula has changed

Jeff

I have no idea as to whether the formula has changed, however, the major source of isomalt appears to still be Germany.