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Tagatose is a naturally occurring simple sugar or monosaccharide. It is classified as a ketohexose, which means it has six carbon atoms and a ketone functional group. Tagatose is structurally similar to fructose, another natural sugar in fruits and honey.
What sets tagatose apart is its unique properties, particularly its low caloric content and ability to taste sweet without significantly affecting blood sugar levels. Tagatose is approximately 90% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar) but has only about 38% of the calories, making it a popular low-calorie sweetener.
Tagatose can be found in a few naturally occurring and commercially produced sources.
Sugar or sucrose, typically extracted from sugar cane or sugar beet, comprises equal parts glucose and fructose. But Tagatose is a naturally occurring monosaccharide formed from lactose during heating processes.
D-tagatose has approximately 92% of sucrose’s sweetness but contains just 38% of calories. It is tooth-friendly and has minimal effects on blood glucose levels.
Therefore, tagatose can easily be a replacement sweetener for regular cane sugar or sucrose in similar baking and cooking processes.
Both tagatose and allulose are similar to sugar’s functionality in areas such as browning for baked foods and freeze-point depression for ice cream. However, the most significant difference between the two is their sweetness.
Allulose is only 70% sweeter than sucrose, whereas tagatose is over 90%, as highlighted earlier. But it has only 0.4 calories/gram, considerably lower than tagatose.
Learn all about allulose to see if it can be a better solution for your sugar reduction needs.
Low Caloric Content: Tagatose 1.5 calories per gram is significantly lower than the four calories per gram provided by regular cane sugar. Furthermore, studies indicate that it can help regulate blood sugar levels by blunting the rise in glucose levels by blocking the absorption of carbs/sugar from other foods.
Sweetness: It is nearly indistinguishably sweet as table sugar, making it an excellent substitute for regular sucrose.
Low Glycemic Index: Tagatose has a low glycemic index, meaning it has minimal effects on blood glucose and insulin levels.
Tooth-Friendly: Unlike most common sugars, tagatose does not promote cavities.
Prebiotic Effects: Tagatose has prebiotic effects, feeding healthy gut bacteria with dietary fiber.
Baking Properties: The chemical properties of tagatose make it similar to baking with sugar. It browns slightly faster than sugar, offering familiar, rich caramel and malt flavors.
Tagatose is an exciting alternative to high-potency sweeteners and sugar alcohols such as sucrose. Its familiar taste and many health benefits make it an ideal choice for foods with high-sweetness ingredients.
While the FDA food labeling mandate is still a rather unfair hurdle, the benefits are hefty enough to get the attention of industry juggernauts looking into sugar reduction solutions for 2024.