Development of polyphenols-enriched maple sugars by freeze- and vacuum drum drying technologies

[EN] Hot water extract of sugar and red maple bark was added to maple syrup and dried by freeze (FD) and vacuum drum drying (VD) techniques. Addition of maple bark extracts to syrup helped to develop polyphenols-enriched maple sugar. X-ray diffraction revealed that sugar obtained from FD was amorphous in nature, while crystalline when dried by VD. Furthermore, the observation of maple sugar samples under scanning electron microscopy showed smooth and porous surface for FD sugar, while rough and grainy surface for VD sugar. Hausner ratio indicated that sugar produced by VD showed better flow characteristics than FD sugar.