LAUSR

On chocolate, sugars fulfill important functions that go beyond sweetening, as a bulking agent, texture modifier, flavor enhancer, and preservative. Ots preference in many foods, is due to its clean sweet taste, with a rapid onset and minimum persistence, unlike other sweeteners (Aidoo et al., 2013; Tavares et al., 2014). On the substitution of sucrose in chocolate, polydextrose, inulin and maltodextrin have been used as bulking agents, showing favorable results from sensory acceptability in formulations with inulin and polydextrose combination (75I:25) and (50I:50), respectively (Gomes et al., 2007) . Samples with maltodextrin did not show good acceptability of the product compared to control formulation (Farzanmehr & Abbasi, 2009). Aidoo et al. (2014) mention that inulin must be combined with other bulking agent, since it increases chocolate viscosity by itself, which can impede its proper handling in the process. Shah et al. (2010) found that formulations of chocolates with inulin of high degree of polymerization, stevia, and polydextrose give rise to products with sensory and physicochemical characteristics very similar to milk chocolates sweetened with sucrose. Also, Son et al. (2018) reported that maltitol is an excellent substitution alternative, since it is not carcinogenic and has a relative sweetness very close to sucrose. The maltitol also generates properties of resistance to bloom in the final product, which could have a higher storage stability compared to chocolates containing sucrose. However, it is important to consider the challenge of achieving suitable synergy among the aforementioned ingredients, in order to guarantee the desired sensory, texture, and functional properties or similar to a sample sweetened with sucrose.