Development of technology for processing jerusalem artichoke into oligofructose and fructose-glucose syrups

To date, global sugar production remains significant, exceeding 180 million tons in 2022/2023. Excessive sugar consumption is associated with the development of diseases such as obesity and diabetes mellitus. In many countries, including Europe, strategies are being developed to reduce the consumption of added sugar. Studies show that children consume more sugar than adults, and this level significantly exceeds the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), according to which free sugars should not account for more than 10% of the total daily calorie intake. Thus, an important task is to regulate sugar consumption and find safe and effective sugar substitutes in food. This paper discusses the production of oligofructose and fructose-glucose syrups from jerusalem artichoke tubers and their use in the food industry as a multifunctional ingredient. The optimal parameters of the technological process of processing jerusalem artichoke tubers into syrups are described, as well as the procedural and technological scheme and characteristics of the syrups obtained using the proposed technology are presented. The essential distinguishing features of the developed technology are the presence of two-stage jerusalem artichoke tubers washing with mandatory waste water recovery, crushing tubers with the ability to adjust the fractional composition of the chips, convective drying of jerusalem artichoke chips and their storage with subsequent processing, multi-stage purification of extract and syrup, coagulation, adsorption purification, cation and anion exchange treatment, ultrafiltration. Despite the increased initial content of coloring, minerals and protein in jerusalem artichoke syrups, the research results have shown that using the combination of the above processes, it is possible to significantly reduce the content of these impurities and obtain low-calorie syrups, which are natural sweeteners with a beneficial carbohydrate profile and prebiotic properties. It is obvious that with the further development of biotechnology, prebiotic ingredients and natural jerusalem artichoke syrups will be increasingly in demand in the food and beverage industry.