Erythritol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener in sugar-free foods. It is 70% as sweet as sugar, virtually non-caloric, and does not cause tooth decay or gastric side effects. However, it can have a cooling effect and may dry out baked goods. It is often combined with other ingredients to mimic sucrose.
Erythritol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol, a type of sweetener used in sugar-free foods. Like all sugar alcohols, it is less sweet and has fewer calories than sucrose and is not conducive to tooth decay. Erythritol-based gum and candies instead of sugar are better for oral health.
Erythritol is 70% sweet like sugar, although it tastes similar. It is virtually non-caloric and some countries label it as such on food packaging. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration requires erythritol to be labeled as 0.2 calories per gram. Because of its low sweetness, erythritol is often combined in foods with an artificial sweetener. The artificial sweetener makes the product sweeter, while the sugar alcohol masks the off-taste of the artificial sweetener.
While most sugar alcohols can cause gastric side effects such as diarrhea and flatulence when consumed in large quantities, erythritol does not because it is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine and excreted in the urine. Although erythritol can cause a laxative effect if too much is consumed, the amount that would cause such a problem is more than a person would likely consume in one sitting.
Erythritol, like other sugar alcohols, has a cooling effect when dissolved in water. This can improve the flavor and feel of something like mint gum, but it can taste funny in other products, like icing. When erythritol is combined with fats, such as butter or cocoa butter, the cooling effect can make the texture waxy. Another potential problem with erythritol is that it doesn’t attract water, which can cause baked goods made with the sugar alcohol to dry out more quickly. It also has a tendency to crystallize.
Erythritol is often combined with other ingredients to more closely mimic sucrose in taste, texture and other properties. Inulin, a type of carbohydrate that occurs naturally in some plants and is used as a sugar and fat substitute, is often used in combination with erythritol. It has a warming effect when combined with water, which helps cancel out the cooling effect of erythritol. Isomalt and glycerin, two other sugar alcohols, also have properties that work well in combination with those of erythritol.
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