Fructose in soft drinks

Fructose is unique among known sugars in being sweeter than sucrose. Fructose is a six carbon monosaccharide which is abundant in nature. Free fructose is present in honey, dates, figs, apples, grapes and most berries.

Fructose is commercially available as an anhydrous crystalline powder or in its aqueous solution and has been successfully used as a replacement for sucrose as its increase sweetness enables use at lower levels. 

Advances in technology in the 1960s made possible the production of inexpensive high fructose corn syrup from corn starch.

In solution, fructose can exist as four or five isomers, and the relative sweetness of a solution is dependent upon the equilibrium between the sweeter pyranose isomers and the less sweet furanose isomers which is in turn dependent on such condition as pH and temperature.

Soft drink companies found that high fructose sweetener did not alter the taste of the soft drink compared to cane or beet sugar.

Fructose is very soluble and relatively more hygroscopic than sucrose. It has a distinctive clean taste and may be used in synergy with other bulk sweeteners and also some high intensity sweeteners, to improve overall taste profiles.
Fructose in soft drinks