Trehalose ✦

Tréhalose

What it is

It is named for trehala manna, a sugary weevil cocoon from the Middle East in which it was first identified, and it is the molecule a tardigrade or a resurrection plant fills its cells with to survive being dried to dust. Pastry buys it for exactly that reason: it protects structure through freezing and drying.

In the kitchen

Swap 10 to 20 percent of the sucrose in an ice cream or sorbet: it is about half as sweet, so sweetness drops while the freezing point barely moves, unlike dextrose. On dried fruit and glazed nuts it holds a suppleness plain sugar lets go.

Goes with

Cream White sugar Glucose syrup Strawberry Mango Dried apricot Yuzu Matcha

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