Inverted sugar syrup

Inverted sugar syrup is a syrup mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose, made by splitting the disaccharide sucrose. This mixture's optical rotation is opposite to that of the original sugar, which is why it is called an invert sugar. Splitting is completed through hydrolytic saccharification.

It is 30% sweeter than table sugar, and foods that contain invert sugar retain moisture better and crystallize less easily than those that use table sugar instead. Bakers, who call it invert syrup, may use it more than other sweeteners.

Other names include invert sugar, simple syrup, sugar syrup, sugar water, bar syrup, and sucrose inversion.

Commercially prepared enzyme-catalyzed solutions are inverted at 60 °C (140 °F). The optimum pH for inversion is 5.0. Invertase is added at a rate of about 0.15% of the syrup's weight, and inversion time will be about 8 hours. When completed the syrup temperature is raised to inactivate the invertase, but the syrup is concentrated in a vacuum evaporator to preserve color.

Though inverted sugar syrup can be made by heating table sugar in water alone, the reaction can be sped up by adding lemon juice, cream of tartar, or other catalysts, often without changing the flavor noticeably.^{[citation needed]} Common sugar can be inverted quickly by mixing sugar and citric acid or cream of tartar at a ratio of about 1000:1 by weight and adding water. If lemon juice, which is about five percent citric acid by weight, is used instead then the ratio becomes 50:1. Such a mixture, heated to 114 °C (237 °F) and added to another food, prevents crystallization without tasting sour.

Commercially prepared hydrochloric acid-catalyzed solutions may be inverted at the relatively low temperature of 50 °C (122 °F). The optimum pH for acid-catalyzed inversion is 2.15. As the inversion temperature is increased, the inversion time decreases. They are then given a pH neutralization when the desired level of inversion is reached.

In confectionery and candy making, cream of tartar is commonly used as the acidulant, with typical amounts in the range of 0.15–0.25% of the sugar's weight. The use of cream of tartar imparts a honey-like flavor to the syrup. After the inversion is completed, it may be neutralized with baking soda using a weight of 45% of the cream of tartar's weight.

All constituent sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) support fermentation, so invert sugar solutions of any composition can be fermented.