Method Of Processing Sugar Beet And Its Varieties Into A Product Usable In The Food-Processing Industry, The Product Obtained In This Way And Food Containing This Product

Abstract

A method of processing sugar beet and its varieties. It includes inactivation of the material against degradation by mixing sugar beet material with one or more alcohols selected from the group of alcohols containing one to four carbon atoms in the molecule and one hydroxyl group in such a ratio that the minimum alcohol concentration in the resulting liquid phase of the mixture is at least 60% by volume at a temperature from −15° C. to 180° C. The mixture of sugar beet and alcohol is maintained for 0 minutes to 600 minutes. The sugar beet roots before, during or after the inactivation step are disintegrated to a material of particles where at least one of the particle dimensions is less than or equal to 50 mm. The liquid phase is removed from the mixture to form a product with a dry-matter content of 40% by weight up to 99% by weight.

Claims

1. A method of processing sugar beet and its varieties into a product usable in the food-processing industry that includes the following: a) inactivation of a sugar beet against degradation and elimination of undesirable sensory substances, which includes: i. mixing of the sugar beet with one or several alcohols selected from a group of alcohols containing one to four carbon atoms in the molecule and one hydroxyl group in such a ratio that the minimum concentration of alcohol in a resulting liquid phase of the mixture is at least 60% by volume, at a temperature of −15° C. to 180° C.; ii. maintaining the mixture of material and alcohol until reaching the technically same concentration of alcohols in the entire volume of the mixture; b) disintegration of sugar beet roots before, during or after the inactivation, into a material of particles, where at least one of the particle dimensions is less than or equal to 50 mm, where the disintegration of the roots occurs prior to the inactivation, then: the time between disintegration and inactivation is at most 24 hours and shortens proportionally as the surface of the disintegrated material increases, so that disintegration into a paste is directly followed by inactivation; and/or during or immediately after disintegration and prior to inactivation, the disintegrated material is shock-heated to a temperature of at least 80° C.; and/or during or immediately after disintegration, the disintegrated mass is pre-dried with a flow of gas (gases) at a temperature of 25° C. to 180° C., until reaching a moisture content of the material of at most 50% by weight, but where the gases contain at least 12% of oxygen, then the gas flow rate in the drying space must be 5.0 m.s.sup.−1 to 40 m.s.sup.−1; and/or all actions from disintegration to inactivation (inclusive) take place: in a controlled atmosphere where the oxygen content is reduced by at least 40% against the oxygen content in the Earth's atmosphere, and in an environment where the amount of energy emitted at a wavelength from 100 nm to 1100 nm, is at most below 300 mJ cm.sup.−2, and c) removing the liquid phase from the mixture to form a product with a dry-matter content of 40% by weight up to 100% by weight.

2. The method according to claim 1, where the alcohol in the inactivation is ethanol and/or methanol and/or propanol.

3. The method according to claim 1, where (c) includes: heating of the mixture in a closed space to a temperature of 85° C. to 135° C. and, once this temperature has been reached, the generated vapours begin to be removed from the space until the alcohol content in the material falls below 5% by weight, or the liquid content falls below 60% by weight in the mixture, subsequently the material is dried until reaching a dry-matter content of 40% by weight up to 99.9% by weight; or separation of the mixture into a solid and a liquid phase which are further treated separately so that: the solid phase is dried to form a product with a dry-matter content of 40% by weight up to 100% by weight, from the liquid phase, the alcohol is recovered and the residue after removal of the alcohol is dried to form a product with a dry-matter content of 40% by weight up to 100% by weight, or it is crystallised, and where, before and during the separation process of the mixture, the mixture is preferably maintained at a temperature between −15° C. to 30° C.

4. The method according to claim 1, where in (c) and/or during the pre-drying the mixture/material is dried at a temperature exceeding 100° C. at a moisture content of the mixture/material above 50% by weight and at a temperature below 100° C. at a moisture content of the mixture/material below 50% by weight.

5. The method according to claim 1, where the vapours from (a) or (c) are captured for alcohol recovery and where the distillation residue from the alcohol recovery is dried.

6. The method according to claim 1, where (c) is carried out at temperatures from 30° C. to 160° C. at atmospheric pressure, or under reduced pressure, or at a reduced oxygen concentration in the space.

7. The method according to claim 3, where the liquid phase is winterized before recovery at temperatures in the range of −30° C. to 10° C., and subsequently the portion of the dry matter obtained by winterization is separated a second time and the solid phase obtained by the second separation is dried to form a product with a dry-matter content of at least 40% by weight.

8. The method according to claim 1, where the material or mixture is sonicated at frequencies from 15.0 kHz to 40 kHz for 1 minute to 6 hours at a sonication power of 30 J/g to 4500 J/g.

9. The method according to claim 8, where during the sonication the temperature of the mixture is maintained by an external action of energy at a temperature of 60° C. to 85° C.

10. The method according to claim 1, where the gas in the pre-drying is air with an oxygen content of at most 12%, nitrogen, a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, and/or carbon dioxide.

11. The method according to claim 1, where Na.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5 and/or K.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5 is added directly to the sugar beet during the disintegration or before inactivation in an amount up to 0.05% by weight and/or NaNO.sub.2 and/or KNO.sub.2 in an amount up to 0.95% by weight, in solid crystalline form, depending on the weight of the sugar beet.

12. The method according to claim 1, where an organic or inorganic acid is added to the material prior to inactivation in such an amount that the resulting pH of the mixture is 2.0 to 4.9.

13. The method according to claim 1, where (a) to (c) are performed in an environment where the energy of electromagnetic radiation in contact with the material of a wavelength of 200 nm to 420 nm and 550 nm to 650 nm is at most 300 mJ.cm.sup.−2.

14. The method according to claim 1, where the obtained product is further mixed with one or more alcohols selected from the group of alcohols containing one to four carbon atoms in the molecule and one hydroxyl group, where the concentration of alcohols prior to mixing is at least 70% by volume in the product-to-alcohol ratio of 4:1 to 1:5, and is subsequently washed for 0 minutes up to 600 minutes at temperatures of 0° C. to 90° C.; the solid phase is separated and subsequently dried, while from the liquid phase alcohol is recovered.

15. The method according to claim 1, where the product or material obtained before the inactivation with a dry-matter content of 80% by weight or more is subsequently ground and fractionated and/or mixed with vegetable fats and/or oils, the fat-to-product ratio is 1:2 to 1:50.

16. A sugar beet product obtained by the method according to claim 1, wherein it contains at least 80% by weight of mono- and disaccharides in the mixture and at least 0.15% by weight of minerals, where the minerals are predominantly represented by a mixture of potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, and their compounds, and betaine in a total amount of at least 100 mg/kg.

17. A product obtained by the method according to claim 1, wherein it contains at least 40% by weight of total fibre consisting mainly of substances from the group of pectin, cellulose and hemicellulose, their subunits and compounds in the mixture and which contains at least 5% by weight of monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides in the mixture, and at least 0.5% by weight of minerals, with the majority weight representation of minerals including the chemical elements potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium and their compounds.

18. A product obtained by the method according to claim 1, the colour of which is in shades of white, or shades of yellow or shades of beige, and contains: pectic substances, hemicellulose, cellulose, mono- and disaccharides with a calorific value and minerals and betaine, in the total amount of these substances in the mixture of at least 80% by weight in dry matter, where the moisture content is at most 60% by weight and the content of added sulphites and nitrites in the process is 0% by weight.

19. A product obtained by the method according to claim 1, containing in the dry matter at least 1.0% of compounds which contain phenol in the molecule or show antioxidant activity.

20. A food containing a product according to claim 16.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0129] FIG. 1 is a flow chart describing the process of processing sugar beet according to the presented present teaching.

EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENTS

Example 1

[0130] A defoliated sugar beet root was cleaned of surface impurities. The whole root was grated to shavings about 10 mm thick. Subsequently, the shavings were mixed with an ethanol solution of a concentration of 95% by volume of ethanol in a weight ratio of 1:1.5 (material:ethanol) and such mixture was homogenised into a fine paste. Subsequently, the mixture was heated to 85° C.±5° C. under constant stirring with a holding period of 10 minutes. The mixture was then cooled down to 25° C. and separated into a liquid and a solid phase.

[0131] The solid phase was dried at the temperature of 100° C.±5° C. to reach a final dry-matter content of 92% by weight, while gaining a partial solid phase product (SP1).

[0132] The liquid phase was dried under constant stirring at a temperature of 55° C., in a vacuum of 15 kPa±5 kPa. After alcohol evaporation from the liquid phase, a by-product was obtained consisting mainly of an aqueous solution of mono- and disaccharides, minerals and other minor substances originating from sugar beet. This by-product was additionally dried in the vacuum film dryer at a temperature of 100° C.±5° C. and a pressure of 15 kPa±5 kPa to a dry-matter content of 94% by weight. The partial product thus obtained from the liquid phase was further washed—being mixed with 95% by volume of ethanol in a 1:1 weight ratio. The mixture was heated up to 40° C. and separated. After this second separation, the obtained solid phase was dried at a temperature of up to 100° C., producing a partial product from the liquid phase after the second separation (LP1).

[0133] Ethanol was recovered from the liquid phase after the second separation at a pressure of 9.9 kPa. The recovery produced a distillation residue (SP2) which was dried, in the same way as the by-product from the liquid phase after the first separation.

[0134] Vapours generated during the entire process were captured for the recovery of ethanol.

[0135] The solid phase product (SP1) contained in particular higher polysaccharides such as pectin substances, hemicellulose and cellulose from sugar beet which constituted 80%±4% by weight in the dry matter of this fraction. The remaining part of the solid phase fraction comprised mono- and di-saccharides (6%±2% by weight) and in minority further substances retained from sugar beet. The product was white in colour, with no trace of sensory negative substances.

[0136] The liquid phase product (LP1) contained in the dry matter especially mono- and di-saccharides (88% by weight), minerals (1.35% by weight), betaine (480 mg/100 g) as well as other minority fractions of substances originating from sugar beet. The product was white in colour of a yellow-beige hue, with no trace of sensory negative substances. The distillation residue after drying (SP2) contained residual sugars and minerals as well as antinutritional and colouring substances, was green in colour and contained a recognisable share of sensory negative substances.

[0137] Mixing parts of solid (SP1) and liquid phase (LP1) in different ratios resulted in a product from a whole sugar beet root, with a substance composition dependent on the mixing ratios of the two fractions. For use in the production of jams, the mixing ratio of fractions was about 3:1 (LP1:SP1), for use in wheat bakery products the mixing ratio of fractions was 1:1.

[0138] For use for a food recipe, the product's organoleptic and overall sensory parameters did not change even during further processing by processes applied in the production of the final food product (e.g., bakery products, jams, or chocolate materials).

Example 1.2

[0139] As in Example 1, the sugar beet root was processed by disintegration and inactivation under the same process conditions. Subsequently, immediately after inactivation, the mixture was evaporated in a reduced pressure environment at a temperature of 80° C.±5° C., the evaporated alcohol from the mixture was recovered to form alcohol for further use in the processing. After evaporation of the alcohol to a level below 5% by weight in the mixture, the mixture was pumped to a film evaporator where it was dried to a dry matter level of 90%±5% by weight. The product thus obtained had a pale green-beige hue and showed very low, only faintly recognisable sensory-negative odours of sugar beet. The product was subsequently washed with 95% v/v ethanol in 1:1 weight ratio at a temperature of 30° C. for 5 minutes. Afterwards, the solid phase was separated from the liquid phase. The solid phase was dried at 110° C.±5° C. producing the product. The liquid phase was recovered under a vacuum of 9.9 kPa at a temperature of 35° C. to form ethanol with a concentration of 95% by volume and a distillation residue.

[0140] The product/concentrate from the solid phase, formed after washing, was of light yellow to light beige colour, with no traces of negative sensory and antinutritional substances. The concentrate contained a portion of simple sugars (mono- and disaccharides) in the dry matter of 62% by weight to 68% by weight, content of minerals of 1.30%±0.12% by weight, represented in particular by K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, F, Zn, Cu, Mn. The total fibre content was approximately 18.8%±2.6% by weight (total fibre consisted primarily of: cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin compounds), the betaine content was determined to be 685 mg/100 g±48 mg, the group B vitamins content totalled 14 mg/100 g±1.9 mg/100 g. Substance composition in sugar beet concentrates in repeated experiments was always dependent on the representation of individual substances in sugar beet as a raw material entering the process.

Example 1.3

[0141] A defoliated sugar beet root was cleaned of surface impurities. The root was cut into different length shavings of 30 to 140 mm with a cross-section of approximately 10×20 mm. The obtained pieces were then inactivated by mixing them with 95% v/v ethanol in a 1:2 ratio (dry matter material:ethanol) under constant stirring for 15 minutes. After the expiry of the inactivation period, the mixture was tempered. Tempering included gradual heating under constant stirring to a temperature of 120° C.±10° C. for 30 minutes in a closed pressure vessel. After the holding time, the created vapours were gradually removed from the pressure vessel under constant stirring and were directly rectified by distillation to form alcohol. The evaporation process was completed at the moment when the ethanol content in the mixture dropped below 5% by weight. After completion of the process, the material was disintegrated into a paste and pumped into the vacuum film dryer where it was dried at a temperature of 120° C.±5° C. and a pressure of 20 kPa±10 kPa to a final dry-matter content of 92% by weight.

[0142] The product thus formed was, after drying, of a green-beige colour with a low but acceptable content of sensory negative substances. The product was therefore ground to a fine powder with particles below 500 μm and subsequently the product was washed with ethanol at a concentration of 95% by volume, by its mixing in a ratio of 1:2 (product:ethanol). The mixture was heated to a temperature of 85° C. in a sealed vessel for 10 minutes; after the expiry of the holding time, the mixture was cooled down to 15° C. and separated. The solid phase obtained was dried and a temperature of 100° C. in a dryer, the liquid phase, once separated, was used to recover alcohol as in Example 1. After washing, the obtained product was of pale yellow-white colour, the taste of the product following its washing and drying was without any trace of negative sensory substances, with a slight pleasant aroma and flavour of caramelisation of sugars. For use in food recipes, the product's parameters did not change during further processing by the processes applied in the production of the final food (e.g., bakery products, jams, or chocolates). The material composition of the product was in repeated experiments always dependent on the substance composition of the raw material, as was the case of Example (1.1).

Example 2

[0143] A defoliated sugar beet root with a sugar content determined at the level of 14% by weight of the sucrose content was cleaned of surface impurities and roughly cleaned of surface peel. The sugar beet was disintegrated by slicing into 20 mm thick pieces. The material sliced in this manner was immediately divided into several parts and each part was mixed with one of the group of alcohols:ethanol, methanol, propanol, and a mixture thereof, always consisting of two alcohols from this group in a 1:1 ratio. The pieces of sugar beet were subsequently further homogenised in alcohol to form a fine paste.

[0144] The alcohol solutions used were tested at two various concentrations, 85% by volume and 95% by volume. The ratio of mixing sugar beet paste with alcohols was 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:10 and 1:15 (material:alcohol).

[0145] In one group of samples, inactivation was performed by adding the appropriate alcohol under constant stirring at a temperature of 25° C. In another group of samples, the alcohol-paste mixture was, during the inactivation process, heated up to a temperature of 85° C.±5° C. in a sealed vessel with a holding time of 10 minutes. The inactivated samples of the mixture were tempered by their heating up to a temperature of 110° C.±10° C. in a closed pressure vessel under constant stirring and during the holding time of 10 minutes and 30 minutes. Subsequently a major part of the liquid phase was evaporated from the mixture (to the dry-matter content of 60% by weight) in a film evaporator and additionally dried at temperatures of 100° C.±10° C. with reduced pressure of 20 kPa±10 kPa. With the dry-matter content of 60% by weight, the resultant product was of paste consistency; with the dry-matter content of 92%±5% by weight, a powdery product/concentrate was formed. The obtained product was ground to the desired granulation with a particle size below 1000 μm. The colour of the products obtained after drying was light green to beige, the products with a higher water content were always darker. The colour of the products remained unchanged even after repeated heating. The sensory properties of the products after drying were at the limit of acceptability, with very low odour intensity of sugar beet. The intensity of the negative odour decreased with an increasing portion of alcohol in the mixture added in the inactivation step. Subsequent washing, as in Example 1.3, significantly improved both the colour and sensory parameters of the products. After washing, the resultant product did not change its parameters even during further processing by processes applied in the production of the final food (e.g., bakery products, jams, or chocolates).

[0146] Evaporated water and alcohol were collected during the drying process and the alcohol was recovered from the mixture for further use by a distillation and rectification process under vacuum (up to 9.9 kPa). In the process, the vapour energy was recovered and used for heating in other phases of the process. Using 85% v/v alcohol solutions, the most optimal sensory properties of concentrates were achieved at a mixing ratio of 1:5. The propanol (C3) based process was best evaluated in terms of sensory properties, but the ethanol-based process was evaluated most advantageous. At an alcohol concentration of 95% by volume, the most beneficial mixing ratio (sugar beet paste:alcohol) was already 1:2 ratio when using ethanol (C2). When using methanol (C1) or mixtures of alcohols, the sensory parameters were evaluated as worse, in the case of propanol (C3) they were in some cases better, or comparable to ethanol (C2). When methanol was used, the products displayed detectable trace quantities of negative sensory substances of sugar beet, but in the case of ethanol and propanol, sensory negative substances were suppressed to a sensory acceptable limit or beyond the sensory perception limit.

[0147] The more preferable inactivation temperature was above 80° C., where the resultant products after washing were always lighter in colour compared to the obtained products with an inactivation temperature of 25° C. After washing, the products at an inactivation temperature of 25° C. were of a darker colour.

[0148] The products thus obtained retained nutrients derived from sugar beets as well as the content of polyphenolic compounds which degraded minimally in the process by oxidation scale. In case of material-to-alcohol ratios of less than 1:2 (material:alcohol), the products, following the drying step prior to the washing step, had a perceptible slight discolouration towards the hues of green to beige. All products retained their typical sweet taste. The products were not caramelised and in their dry matter contained a natively high portion of sugar beet dietary fibre (8% to 10%). The products obtained did not contain sulphites, reducing agents or additives. The products obtained did not show any impairment by substances reducing their sensory or nutritional quality. Substances with negative organoleptic properties originating from sugar beets were eliminated in the process and were not sensorially noticeable.

[0149] The content of simple sugars (mono- and di-saccharides) in the concentrates obtained reached the level of 62% by weight to 68% by weight, content of minerals of 1.10%±0.15% by weight, in particular K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, F, Zn, Cu, Mn. The total fibre content was approximately 19.6%±2.8% by weight (total fibre consisted primarily of: cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin compounds), the betaine content was determined to be 588 mg/100 g±61 mg, the group B vitamins content totalled 10 mg/100 g±1.6 mg/100 g. Substance composition in sugar beet products/concentrates in repeated experiments was always dependent on the representation of individual substances in the raw material entering the process.

Example 3

[0150] In Example 3, the same process as in Example 2 was used, but with the difference that the disintegrated material was, prior to its mixing with alcohols, pre-dried by combined drying, using fluid bed drying in a controlled atmosphere and air at a temperature of 100° C. and an air flow rate of 6.5 m.s.sup.−1. The fluid drying in a controlled atmosphere was applied until the temperature of the material has reached 85° C.±5° C., and then the material was dried in a fluid bed dryer to the dry matter value of 60% by weight and 90% by weight. The pre-drying process was carried out at an oxygen concentration reduced by 40%, containing carbon dioxide. The rest of the procedure was the same as in Example 2.

[0151] The resultant products had a dry-matter content of 95% by weight. The products had comparable sensory properties, with a shade slightly darker in colour compared to the products obtained without pre-drying. The difference from the resultant products from Example 2 was that the organoleptic quality of the products (especially taste, aroma when consumed) undergoing pre-drying was, already at material-to-alcohol ratio of 1:1, comparable to the quality of the products from Example 2 obtained at higher ratios of added alcohols. The resultant vapours in the tempering process were extracted at a temperature of 110° C.±10° C., deducted directly for recovery in which the alcohol was concentrated to produce solutions with an alcohol concentration of min 80% by volume. The products obtained, after drying to the dry-matter content of 97% by weight, they were subsequently washed. Washing of the products was carried out in a manner that following their drying the products were repeatedly mixed with alcohols in 2:1 or 1:1 ratios (product:alcohol), similarly as in the in activation process. The mixture temperature during washing was 50° C.±10° C. for 10 minutes under constant stirring; the mixture was then cooled down to 20° C. and separated into liquid and solid phases. After separation, the solid phase was dried at a temperature of 90° C.±10° C. to a dry matter value of 97% by weight. The product obtained was lighter in colour, had the same or better organoleptic properties and a comparable substance composition as the products of Example 2. The liquid phase after separation was recovered in order to obtain reusable alcohols. The product contained all substances originating from the raw material, the process stopped the degradation processes and removed the sensory negative components and part of the degradation products causing the colour change in the mixture. The sugar content in the concentrates obtained was 68% by weight, the content of minerals was 1.25% by weight, in particular potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, fluorine, zinc, copper, manganese (K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, F, Zn, Cu, Mn). The total fibre content was 20%±2% by weight, composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin compounds, the betaine content was determined to be 715 mg/100 g±55 mg/100 g, the group B vitamins content was 18 mg/100 g±2 mg/100 g.

Example 4

[0152] A cleaned and defoliated sugar beet after harvest with a total dry-matter content of 24.8% by weight was disintegrated by grating into shavings approximately 3 mm thick. The obtained material was immediately quantitatively divided into two parts. One part was pre-dried with hot gas, in which the oxygen content was reduced to 5% by volume, at a drying temperature of 110° C. in a fluid bed dryer under reduced light radiation intensity with a wavelength of 200 nm to 420 nm and from 550 nm to 600 nm (intensity up to 0.010 mW cm.sup.−2 and the total energy after reaching 50% by weight of the dry matter was 20 mJ cm.sup.−2±5 mJ cm.sup.−2). Pre-drying took place until the temperature in the material reached 80° C. and the dry matter of the material increased to 50% by weight, with subsequent additional drying of the material at a temperature of 80° C. to the dry-matter content of 65% by weight. The second part was processed without the pre-drying step. Both parts were inactivated by mixing them with monohydroxy alcohols C1 to C3 as in Example 2. The concentration of the alcohol solutions used was at least 85% by volume. Each of the prepared mixtures was prepared by mixing the material after disintegration or pre-drying with one of the C1 to C3 alcohols in the specified ratios. Each mixture was then heated up in a closed vessel to a temperature of 90° C. under constant stirring for a period of 20 minutes. Each mixture was separated on the filter centrifuge to form a liquid and a solid phase. The solid phase of the pre-dried part of the material was dried at a temperature of 100° C.±10° C. until the dry-matter content reached 95% by weight. Escaping vapours were captured for the recovery of alcohols as well as for the recovery of energy by heat transfer media. Both alcohols and energy were recovered and reused in the process.

[0153] After its separation, the liquid phase of the pre-dried part of the material was winterized at a temperature of −18° C. At the same temperature, it was transferred over to the next separation, second in order, and following that separation the obtained second solid phase was dried in a fluid bed drier under the same conditions as in the previous step. During drying, the resulting evaporation was collected and used directly for the recovery of alcohols. The produced second liquid phase after the second separation was brought to the recovery of alcohols by distillation at a temperature of 45° C. and a pressure of 12.0 kPa±5.0 kPa. After the recovery of the second liquid phase, a by-product was produced which comprised of a concentrated aqueous solution of the part of the sugar beet dry matter. This by-product was then heated up to a temperature of 115° C.±10° C. in a closed space for 40 minutes, during which time it was concentrated. It was then dried to form a partial product with high antioxidant activity and a content of phenolic compounds at the level of 1.9%±0.15% by weight. In the products thus obtained after drying the first and second solid phases, the content of simple mono- and disaccharides from sugar beet, total fibre content, the complex of minerals and betaine were determined.

[0154] The quantities of the monitored substances varied in the individual partial fractions of the product in proportion to the change in the mixing ratio of the paste to alcohol in the inactivation step.

[0155] As the ratio of alcohol in the liquid phase of the mixture during inactivation increased, the sensory parameters of the obtained products improved. The winterization process provided the product only if the material was pre-dried after its disintegration to at least a 50% dry-matter content.

[0156] In the case where the material was not pre-dried, the first solid part after the first separation consisted mostly of the fibre fraction which constituted 80%±9% by weight of the dry matter in the product fraction. The other part of the product fractions thus obtained consisted of roughly 12%±8% of sugars and other non-sugar components of sugar beet. The majority of the mono- and disaccharides from sugar beet were dissolved in the liquid phase. The liquid phase after the first separation from the material without pre-drying was winterized to produce a minimum part of solid phase yield in the second separation step. In the subsequent process of recovering the alcohols from the liquid phase after the second separation, the dissolved substances were brought from the liquid phase to a distillation residue, which was further processed. The residue was divided into two halves, one half was heated up to a temperature of 110° C.±10° C. in a closed duplicator vessel for 10 minutes and then dried at a temperature of 90° C. Thus, another partial product was obtained after recovery. The other half of the distillation residue was treated by crystallisation, in the same method as for obtaining sucrose in sugar refineries, and thereby yielding raw sugar. The remainder of the resulting liquid after obtaining the raw sugar was dried to give a dry matter which formed another fraction of the product. The products were coloured in green-beige shades and had a slightly recognisable sugar beet odour. The process of washing with alcohol as in Example 1 made it possible to eliminate the green shades of the products as well as the residual negative sensory substances. By mixing them with the other product fractions produced in the first and second separation processes it was possible to produce the final product with an exact substance composition.

[0157] The solid phase obtained after the first separation from the material without pre-drying was dried at a temperature of 120° C. until the resultant dry-matter content was 90% by weight. The product obtained in this way did not contain any traces of sensory-negative substances from sugar beet and had a lighter colour than the products obtained in Example 2. The products obtained by the above-described procedure did not show degradation damage. The products obtained were of light beige colour without sensory traces of negative sensory substances from sugar beet. Partial products obtained during the recovery of alcohols from the liquid phase in the case of 1:1 to 1:1.5 mixing ratios without pre-drying of the material contained a high proportion of mono- and disaccharides of 85%±6% by weight, proteins of 3.5% to 4.1% by weight, minerals of 0.78% to 1.1% by weight, and betaine of about 620 mg/100 g±60 mg/100 g. The parts and quantities of substances always depended on the substance composition of the entering raw material.

Example 5

[0158] Defoliated sugar beet with a sugar content of 15.6% by weight of the sucrose content was cleaned of surface impurities. Subsequently, it was disintegrated by grating, homogenised, and ground to a fine paste. In the disintegration process, 0.05% by weight of K.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5 was added to the paste, in repeated experiments either the same amount of Na.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5 or 0.65% by weight of NaNO.sub.2 or 0.05% by weight of KNO.sub.2 was added to the paste. Sodium or potassium salts were always added in the solid state (powder) in order to slow down the oxidation processes, which are enzymatically catalysed in the paste after tissue disruption. The mixed paste thus prepared was always divided into two equal parts. In the first part, the addition of citric acid (in solid form as a powder) adjusted the pH value to 3.6, in the second part of the paste, its pH was not adjusted. Both parts were individually pre-dried in a vacuum drier at a pressure of 0.1 bar±0.05 bar, at a temperature of 80° C.±10° C., to a dry matter level of 90% by weight. The materials obtained in this way had a similar substance composition to the origins from the sugar beet, but the material produced with a pH adjustment contained higher glucose and fructose monosaccharides values by 42% by weight at the expense of sucrose. Both materials were coloured in shades of beige to light green. Sensory evaluation showed that the pH-adjusted material, using the citric acid, was lighter in colour and had a lower content of sensory negative substances of sugar beet compared to the product without pH adjustment. However, the sensory properties of the materials thus obtained still showed perceptible sensory traces of negative sugar beet odour, the colour of the materials still affected the colour shade of foods and continued to degrade in the conditions with increased oxidative-reductive activity of the material in subsequent application tests. Therefore, the materials thus obtained with a moisture content of 10% to 12% by weight were further treated with monohydroxy alcohols having one to three carbons in the molecule (C1 to C3), methanol, ethanol, propanol at a concentration of 85% by weight of volume in liquid form. Alcohol solutions were used in the inactivation process as in the previous examples. After the completion of the inactivation process, the samples were separated or first cooled down to 25° C. and then individually separated in a filtration centrifuge or with the aid of a vacuum filtration, always producing a solid phase and a liquid phase. The solid portion was then dried in a vacuum drier for each sample at a temperature of 80° C.±10° C. The dry matter in the solid portion after drying comprised 90% to 95% by weight of the product, with the content of the residual alcohol in the product always below 1.0% by weight. The separated liquid portion was recovered on a distillation rectification column or on a distillation column at a pressure of 10 kPa±5 kPa. The alcohols used were thus recovered by a distillation process for their further use to form an alcohol with a concentration of at least 80% by volume and a distillation residue containing sugar beet dry matter substances which passed into the liquid phase in the separation process. The distillation residue, after recovering the alcohols, was further dried at 100° C.±5° C. and washed as in Example 1.3 to produce a product (fraction) from sugar beet with high mono- and disaccharide content, minority content of minerals and betaine.

[0159] The fibre, as an insoluble portion, always passed into the solid phase. The lowest sensory quality of the sugar beet products/concentrates was obtained with the use of methanol in comparison with other alcohols.

[0160] The substance composition of the products obtained after drying the separated solid phase and drying the processed liquid phase corresponded to the summary composition of the product in Example 2, however the product contained added allergens. Sensory properties were not impaired by negative substances derived from sugar beet.

Example 6

[0161] Sugar beet was processed similarly as in Example 5; however, no sulphites or nitrites were added during the disintegration process, but immediately after the disintegration, the material was pre-dried and processed until the inactivation process (mixing with alcohols). The processing was performed in equipment with controlled atmosphere (gaseous nitrogen (N2) atmosphere) or with reduced pressure and reduced radiation with a wavelength of 200 nm to 400 nm and 550 nm to 650 nm at 50 mJ.cm.sup.−2. In repeated experiments, a 1:1 (N.sub.2:CO.sub.2) ratio of the nitrogen and carbon oxide was used and the process was repeated on the next identical sample under a reduced pressure of 15 kPa±5 kPa. The aim was to reduce the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere in contact with the disintegrated material during the processing of the sugar beet material. The pressure of gases in the space was maintained at 100 kPa and 200 kPa. After drying the material under the procedure of Example 5, materials were produced containing a dry-matter content of 60% by weight and 92% by weight. The colour of the materials obtained after pre-drying and prior to the application of alcohols was at least comparable to the products obtained in Example 5. Subsequently, the treated material was inactivated with alcohols (C1 to C3) according to Example 5, where the colour of the products changed towards lighter shades. At the same time, residual negative odours and aromas of sugar beet were removed. The substance composition was comparable to Example 5 within the compared concentrates and measured deviations, but the content of added sulphites or nitrites in the process was 0% by weight.

Example 7

[0162] The sugar beet paste was prepared in the same way as in Example 5, but during the disintegration, instead of potassium disulphite, a 1:1 mixture of disulphites, K.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5 and Na.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5, in solid form (powder), was added in an amount of 0.05% by weight for the weight of sugar beet paste.

[0163] Subsequently, a sample of the obtained paste was divided into several equal parts which were further processed. The pH values were adjusted in one half of the samples to pH=3.6±0.25 using citric acid or hydrochloric acid and in the other half of the sample's pH values were not adjusted.

[0164] All paste samples were subsequently treated separately by sonication in a closed system under constant stirring so that the resulting water vapours increased the internal pressure in the vessel. Each sample was sonicated and treated separately. The samples were sonicated at a frequency of 15 kHz, 20 kHz, and 35 kHz at a sonication energy of up to 2400 J/g of the prepared mixture, whereby the samples were evaluated after reaching a sonication energy of 65 J/g of the mixture, 250 J/g of the mixture, 600 J/g of the mixture, 1200 J/g of the mixture, and 2400 J/g of the mixture. The deviation in the measurement of sonication energy per gram of mixture was calculated to be ±12% (a total of 2×60 samples were sonicated). During the initial minutes of sonication, the sonication output fluctuated due to the high viscosity of the samples at temperatures up to 45° C. Therefore, in the next part, the samples were sonicated in the same range of parameters but in two methods, each method increasing the intensity of sonication. In the first method, the samples were additionally diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio (sugar beet paste:water). In the second method, the samples were further homogenised, heated to 70° C. with an external energy source and stirred to intensify the sonication. Thermal energy was supplied to the samples during sonication until reaching the temperature of 70° C. Samples not diluted with water showed a lower intensity of actually transferred sound energy at the same sonication time compared to diluted samples, by an average of 38%±12% in the total sound energy. Samples heated up by an external heat source showed a higher intensity of actually transferred sound energy at the same sonication time compared to the samples that were not heated or diluted, by an average of 26%±12% in the total sound energy. The temperature increase of the mixtures during sonication was proportional to the sonication power and sound energy. The sonication was carried out in each of the samples in a closed vessel, and the process was repeated with other identical samples of sugar beet paste. During intensive and long sonication, the samples became overheated during the sonication process. Therefore, during longer and more intensive sonication it was necessary to cool the samples in the final stages of the process in order that the temperature of the material did not exceed 90° C., because after this temperature has been exceeded the sonication power dropped significantly. After the sonication of the material, the sonicated material was pre-dried and subsequently inactivated with alcohols as in Example 1. After the inactivation, the material was separated and dried as in Example 1. The sonicated material thus obtained was dried under reduced pressure to reduce energy and time requirements for the drying process, at a temperature of 100° C.±20° C. and after evaporation of more than 50% of liquids from the mixture the drying temperature was maintained at 60° C. The same result of drying according to the mentioned parameters in terms of the quality of the product obtained was also achieved during classical drying at atmospheric pressure, where drying at the same temperatures took longer and was more energy intensive. Various drying methods were tested and measured on the samples, namely infrared drying, microwave drying, conduction and thermal drying as a means to optimise the energy demands for the process. Drying was always terminated when the dry-matter content reached 60%±5% by weight (gel-like consistency) and 90%±5% by weight (dry powder material). After the materials had dried to a dry-matter content of 80% or more, some samples were ground to the desired particle size, while part of the water was additionally evaporated due to the influence of friction during the grinding process. In this way, depending on the sonication time, sonication intensity measured in J/g, sonication frequency in kHz and particle granulation achieved during grinding in μm, different types of materials were obtained. These differed from one another by rheological properties when mixed with water. Based on these results, dependencies were defined. The viscosity of the sonicated material decreased as the sonication power and heat in individual samples increased and analogously with the sonication power and heat, the viscosity of the products dried to the 60% content of the dry matter as well as the viscosity of the solutions obtained by mixing the resulting dried powder sugar beet products/concentrates with water (while maintaining the same mixing ratio of the sample and water) decreased. This result was a presumed consequence of decreasing the average molecular weight of the dry matter of the material during sonication. Simultaneously, with the intensity of sonication the portion of soluble dry matter of the concentrates that dissolved and passed into solution or into an indivisible microsuspension with water increased after dissolving the dried sugar beet product/concentrate in water. As the sound energy increased in the sonication process of the material, the portion of insoluble fibre in the material was reduced and more stable suspensions were formed, which is important in terms of the application in certain types of foods.

[0165] The sonication frequency influenced the rheological changes achieved as well as the sensory quality of the concentrates. The worst results regarding the adjustment of sensory and rheological parameters of the samples were obtained at a sonication frequency of 35 kHz, the best results were obtained at a sonication frequency of 20 kHz. The first change in the rheological properties of the sonicated mixtures at 20 kHz occurred when the sound energy reached a value of 140 J/g to 220 J/g. With increasing sound energy per gram of the material, the viscosity decreased and at the same time, after drying, the product obtained became more soluble in water. The solubility was evaluated by measuring the portion of dissolved dry matter in water solution, where, after filtration of the suspension formed by mixing the obtained sugar beet concentrates with water, the mass portion of insoluble dry matter on the filtration interface was evaluated. Changes in sonicated sugar beet concentrates were also observed during drying and subsequent grinding, when with the increase in sound energy in J/g the preparations dried faster at the same energy pulse and at the same mechanical pulse, during the subsequent grinding process, the average particle size as well as the grinding energy of concentrates decreased in proportion to the intensity of sonication (J/g). The results were measured on a system of sieves with a mesh size of 80 μm, 160 μm, 250 μm, 500 μm, where the described rheological changes in the grinding process were demonstrated in an increase in the weight of fractions with smaller particle size at the same grinding energy.

[0166] Changes in sensory properties during sonication of materials occurred gradually. The colour change occurred gradually when the sound energy reached a level of 700 J/g to 1280 J/g, when the sonicated content gradually began to darken in individual samples. The colour change was also apparent in the obtained sugar beet concentrates after drying. The colour changes were not demonstrably pH-dependent during sonication. The organoleptic properties (especially flavour and aroma) improved with an increase in sound energy in the sonicated samples and the intensity of sugar beet odours decreased. The lowest intensity of negative taste and aromatic sensations from sugar beet was achieved with the most intensive sonication at a frequency of 20 kHz and a sonication output of 2400 J/g, evaluated before inactivation. The increase in temperature during the sonication process was proportional to the increase in sonication performance with sonication of all mixtures over time. The colour of the concentrates obtained intensified with the time of sonication towards darker shades of the original light brown and light green, but subsequent inactivation and separation eliminated these colour changes.

[0167] Structural changes in the sugar beet material during sonication led to changes in the rheological properties of the sugar beet concentrates obtained, manifested in particular by a change in viscosity and solubility in the mixtures with water, as well as the formation of more stable suspensions and emulsions in the mixture with water and/or fats. Subsequently, during the drying of the sonicated products/concentrates, a shortening of the drying process (easier release of water at the same energy pulse) and a finer resultant product was observed during the grinding process of sugar beet concentrates.

[0168] Content of simple sugars in dry matter of 96% by weight of the sugar beet concentrate was determined to be 66% by weight to 72% by weight in the case of the mentioned method. The total fibre content was determined to be from 16.5% to 24.2% by weight in the dry matter, the content of minerals changed only minimally and was determined at 1.06%±0.18% and the betaine content was determined to be 486 mg/100 g±96 mg in the dry matter of the concentrate. The resultant substance composition of sugar beet concentrates depended on the duration, power, and temperature of the sonication. The representation of individual substances in the sugar beet used in the processing procedure is an important factor influencing the substance composition of the obtained concentrates and preparations from sugar beet.

Example 8

[0169] The procedure as in the previous example was repeated, but the sugar beet was disintegrated only after inactivation, which took place only using ethanol with a concentration of 95% by volume. The inactivation process took place in a closed pressure vessel at a temperature of 100° C. Subsequently, after drying and grinding the obtained concentrates for granulation to a maximum particle size of 250 μm under the procedure in Example 2, the ethanol-based washing process was applied.

[0170] The washing was repeated by re-mixing the sugar beet product/concentrate with ethanol at a concentration of 95% by volume in a ratio of 1:1, the mixture was heated up at 90° C. under constant stirring for 10 minutes. Subsequently, the mixture was cooled down to −10° C., and the solid portion and liquid portion were separated on a filter centrifuge. The solid part after separation was dried at 120° C. and 100° C., in which the escaping vapours were captured and used to recover ethanol for reuse. The separated liquid portion was recovered by distillation to produce concentrated ethanol of 95% by volume and a distillation residue which contained mainly saccharides in the dry matter.

[0171] The separated solid part after drying to a dry-matter content of 92%±5% by weight represented a sugar beet product/concentrate with a noticeably lighter colour, with better organoleptic parameters of the product than those of the concentrates obtained using ethanol in Example 2. The substance composition of the concentrate thus obtained, when compared to the sugar beet concentrates obtained in Example 2 with ethanol, was similar in the framework of the deviations. As a result of the repeated washing process using ethanol, a sugar beet concentrate was obtained with improved sensory properties, applicable in the preparation of a broader range of food products.

Example 9

[0172] As in Example 2, sugar beet samples were processed with pre-drying to 60% by weight of the dry matter up to the inactivation step. The inactivation step was performed with ethanol at a concentration of 95% by volume, but immediately after inactivation in all samples the liquid portion was separated from the solid portion by filtration. More efficient separation was performed by centrifugal separation to form a separated solid and liquid portion.

[0173] The phases were separated at −5° C. and 60° C. by centrifuge. With decreasing temperature during the separation, the portion of sugar beet dry matter dissolved in the liquid phase decreased. The liquid portion formed after separation at a temperature of 60° C. was divided into two halves. One half was transferred for winterization, where it was cooled down to −18° C. The other half was recovered by distillation to form concentrated alcohol for further use and a distillation residue. The winterization yielded from the liquid phase a secreted solid portion forming in the liquid as a result of the reduced solubility of substances at a lower temperature of the mixture in the liquid phase. This solid part after winterization consisted mainly of simple sugars and saccharides originating from sugar beet, which were subsequently separated by filtration at a temperature close to winterization. The separated liquid (filtrate) after winterization was pumped to recover alcohols in order to concentrate the alcohol solution for further use.

[0174] As a result, it was confirmed that the amount of soluble portion of the sugar beet dry matter in the liquid phase after winterization in the separation depends on the used ratio of sugar beet paste:alcohol in the inactivation step (as described below). The solid portion formed after winterization was directly dried in the same way as in the preceding examples, until reaching the dry matter portion of at least 95% by weight. The resultant particle size of the concentrate thus obtained after drying was additionally adjusted by grinding.

[0175] The solid part (phase) contained after the first separation up to 25% of the residual liquid which was removed by drying at temperatures up to 140° C. with the use of combined drying, always in combination of two methods (specifically), namely the application of microwave drying, vacuum drying, fluid bed drying or extrusion processing (the use of adiabatic expansion). Combined drying, microwave or vacuum drying was used in the first drying step until the moisture content of the material fell below 50% by weight, followed by drying the material in a fluid bed dryer or extrusion. Microwave irradiation or fluid bed drying with reduced oxygen content (heated nitrogen gas) was used for pre-drying.

[0176] Drying of the solid phase was always carried out in such a way that the resulting evaporation produced during drying was captured and brought for separation on the rectification column at atmospheric pressure, but the process of the recovery of alcohols under vacuum was more advantageous in terms of energy and time. The concentration of recovered alcohol after concentration was above 80% v/v in the mixture after recovery.

[0177] The resultant composition of the products obtained from the solid part after the separation of phases is proportionally dependent on the selected ratio of sugar beet paste and ethanol in the inactivation step and the temperature before and during the separation of phases.

[0178] Overall, the substances in the liquid and solid phases after separation always equalled the quantity of substances entering the process in the sugar beet paste (taking into account technological losses in the process). The sensory properties of the concentrates thus obtained were satisfactory in each case, comparable in colour and organoleptic terms to the sugar beet concentrates obtained in Example 2. The content of negative sugar beet substances was minimal to none.

Example 10

[0179] The sugar beet was processed in the same way as in Example 2, with the mixture being pre-dried to 60% by weight. In the inactivation step, alcohol with a concentration of 95% by volume in a 1:2 ratio (material:alcohol) was used, the mixture was heated up to 85° C.±5° C. for 10 minutes. In the inactivation step, the mixture of sugar beet paste with alcohols was at the same time sonicated at a frequency of 18 kHz and 22 kHz, with the temperature of the mixture maintained at a maximum of 80° C. or less. Subsequently, the mixture was divided into two halves after sonication. One half was tempered in a closed duplicator vessel at a temperature of 120° C.±5° C. for 5 minutes, then dried to produce a powdery product containing the dry matter of 90% by weight. The other part was cooled down to 10° C. and brought to the separation of phases during which the portion of solid phase was separated from the portion of liquid phase, wherein the solid portion was dried in a vacuum drier and the liquid portion was submitted to winterization at a temperature of −18° C. The portions of solid phase formed after separation and portions of the solid phase after winterization and after subsequent drying were mixed. By the grinding process, their granulation was adjusted to a particle size of below 500 μm. The difference in the sonication process compared to the sonication in Example 7 was mainly that the sonicated material did not change colour even when the supplied sonication energy exceeded 1200 J/g. Sonication power began to decline significantly after reaching 70° C. At this temperature, it was necessary to begin cooling the sonicated sample when it reached a maximum of 70° C. in the mixture in order to maintain the power and efficient direction of sonication energy into the sample. The changes in material in relation to the temperature and sonication performance were analogous to Example 7, however, the sonication power decreased already at lower temperatures. For use in food production, the process of intensive sonication at sonication energy values above 400 J/g was particularly advantageous for technologies where lower viscosity and lower water binding properties of materials in water solutions are required (e.g., in the manufacture of biscuits, chocolate). Conversely, a low sonication energy below 100 J/g or a sonication free process is suitable for the manufacture of food materials and products that in the process of their production require high water binding property and stability of the resulting gels to produce more viscous water solutions (e.g., bakery production or manufacture of jams and fillings).

Example 11

[0180] The sugar beet was disintegrated, and the sugar beet pastes were processed in the same procedure as in Example 10. The difference was that the disintegration, inactivation, sonication, and tempering processes were performed in an environment with controlled atmosphere and without access of light radiation in the wavelength range from 100 nm to 420 nm, similar to Example 6. The products obtained had the same substance composition and sensory quality as the products obtained in Example 7, but were even lighter in colour.

Example 12

[0181] Sugar beet was disintegrated into particles where at least one particle size was 3 mm, at a temperature of 25° C. in an environment with reduced solar radiation intensity where the total radiation energy in contact with the material was reduced to 50 mJ.cm.sup.−2 and where the radiation intensity did not exceed 0.040 mW.cm.sup.−2 at wavelengths from 200 nm to 420 nm, and 550 nm to 650 nm. The atmosphere of the environment contained atmospheric air with an oxygen content of 21.8%. Subsequently, the material was divided into two halves. One part was left exposed for 30 minutes freely stored in the conditions without the reduction of solar radiation and the other part was kept in the conditions with reduced radiation. After 30 minutes we found that the material exposed to solar radiation showed signs of degradation, a slight change in colour of the surface from white to light pink to red could be detected with the naked eye, whereas the material kept in the space with reduced light radiation energy at the same moment showed no signs of incipient degradation or colour changes. Both materials were subsequently inactivated with ethanol as in the previous example, though the material exposed to solar radiation in the inactivation process changed its colour to grey to dark, while the material maintained in the reduced radiation space showed no signs of degradation or colour changes. These features were detectable in terms of sensory and colour properties even in the prepared products after inactivation and drying, while the difference in the quality of materials became even more pronounced during the drying process.

Example 13

[0182] The sugar beet product/concentrates were obtained in the same method as in Example 10, the ground product to a particle size below 500 μm was subsequently fractionated using dry fluid fractionation in an air flow with a variable flow in a fluid tunnel. In this method, the powdered product was divided on the basis of the density and fly-up threshold of the material particles. As a result, two fractions of the material were produced that differed in their content of sugars, fibre, minerals, betaine as well as vitamins. Both of the fractions showed no negative sensory traces of sugar beet. Both fractions were of a light, yellow-creamy colour, with the first fraction in which the mono- and disaccharides were concentrated being of a significantly paler, whiter colour. The first fraction contained 80%±6% by weight of mono- and disaccharides, 0.92%±0.24% by weight of mineral substances, and 11.2%±3.5% by weight of total fibre. The second fraction was of a light yellow-creamy colour, and contained 42%±8% by weight of fibre fraction (especially pectin substances, hemicellulose, and cellulose), 1.82%±0.14% of minerals and 920 mg/100 g±112 mg/100 g of betaine.

Example 14

[0183] All the products gained in the preceding examples showed, after drying, a dry-matter content of 90% by weight or more, hygroscopic properties, i.e. they were absorbing by binding atmospheric humidity under normal atmospheric conditions, thereby increased the inherent moisture content. For this reason, the products were mixed with palm oil, rapeseed oil or cocoa butter at a temperature of 45° C. in 25:1 to 1:4 ratios (sugar beet concentrate:fat). This resulted in mixtures whose hygroscopicity was significantly lower compared to any sugar beet concentrate produced according to the examples above.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0184] The presented solution makes it possible to obtain a sugar beet concentrate/product which consists of a whole sugar beet root or of its individual fractions according to the technical solution of the present teaching, and is suitable as a food ingredient with functional properties in food production technology or as an alternative to sugar with better nutritional parameters (content of minerals, betaine, fibre, polyphenols, etc.) than in classically produced beet sugar, while the sensory parameters of the obtained product are not impaired by unpleasant aroma or odour of sugar beet, or degradation or oxidation products taking place immediately after the disruption of sugar beet tissues. The sensory and nutritional quality of the products obtained is sufficient for their wide application in the food industry. The technological properties of the materials thus obtained—sugar beet concentrates, and preparations are suitable for application in various branches of the food industry (bakery production, jam production, chocolate production, production of confectionery, biscuits, dairy products, functional foods, and others) as ingredients and sweeteners with nutritional benefits, which at the same time allow the food production process to be more advantageous. Last but not least, due to the content of pectin components and soluble fibre, there is also a positive reduction in caloric load and glycemic index compared to refined beet sugar (crystalline sucrose).