| 摘要 |
A pectin-based non-gelled aqueous composition comprises at least 70% of one or more sugars, pectin having a degree of esterification (DE) of 15% or below and water having a calcium ion concentration of no more than 35mg/l. The aqueous composition can be used to form a gelled heat stable fruit filling which comprises 0.3% or more of the low DE pectin, one or more sugars, water and a fruit concentrate, wherein the filling has a water activity (a<SB>w</SB>) of 0.6 or less. The gelled fruit filling is made by heating the above aqueous composition to increase the RSS (refractomeric sugar solids) value of the composition to 75% or more, optionally adding a humectant, cooling the composition, adding a fruit concentrate and mixing the resulting composition to control the consistency of the gel. The fruit concentrate is added after the composition is heated to avoid degradation of the concentrate and help ensure a low water activity allowing a longer shelf life for the product. The fruit filling is extrudable over a large temperature range and can be incorporated into a wide range of baked or fried products for example fruit nuggets. |
