Brown rice syrup
Encyclopedia
Brown rice syrup, also known as rice syrup, is a sweetener
Sugar substitute
A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners....

 derived by culturing cooked rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 with enzymes (usually from dried barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

 sprouts) to break down the starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

es, then straining off the liquid and reducing it by cooking until the desired consistency is reached. The final product is 45% maltose
Maltose
Maltose , or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an αbond, formed from a condensation reaction. The isomer "isomaltose" has two glucose molecules linked through an α bond. Maltose is the second member of an important biochemical series of glucose chains....

, 3% glucose
Glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

, and 52% maltotriose
Maltotriose
Maltotriose is a trisaccharide consisting of three glucose molecules linked with α-1,4 glycosidic bonds.It is most commonly produced by the digestive enzyme alpha-amylase on amylose in starch...

.

Glucose, the most simple of sugars, is used as the reference food in constructing the Glycemic Index, with a glycemic index
Glycemic index
The glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more...

 of 100. It quickly passes through the stomach into the small intestine where it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Maltose, which has a higher glycemic index of 105, is digested and absorbed as blood glucose even faster.

The more complex Trisaccharide, maltotriose
Maltotriose
Maltotriose is a trisaccharide consisting of three glucose molecules linked with α-1,4 glycosidic bonds.It is most commonly produced by the digestive enzyme alpha-amylase on amylose in starch...


, has a glycemic index in the high-60s about the same as whole, cooked brown rice.

The exact glycemic index for brown rice syrup appears to be unknown, as none of its manufactures have funded the simple blood sugar testing over a 3 hour time frame required to determine it. However, since all three of its components have GIs higher than table sugar, (sucrose) the mix of the three must also have a GI higher than table sugar. Diabetics should manage its consumption accordingly.

Rice syrup has a shelf life of about a year, and once opened, should be stored in a cool, dry place.

Brown rice syrup is produced commercially by cooking brown rice
Brown rice
Brown rice is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier and more nutritious than white rice, but goes rancid more quickly because the germ—which is removed to make white rice—contains fats that can spoil...

 flour or brown rice starch with enzymes. The final carbohydrate mix can be adjusted, depending upon the desired sweetness and application. The syrup is filtered, and excess water is evaporated to thicken it. The product is produced on a commercial scale by several companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Brown rice syrup is the sweetener found in some drinks, such as rice milk
Rice milk
Rice milk is a kind of grain milk processed from rice. It is mostly made from brown rice and commonly unsweetened. The sweetness in most rice milk varieties is generated by a natural enzymatic process, cleaving the carbohydrates into sugars, especially glucose, similar to the Japanese amazake...

.
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