What are Maltodextrins?
Maltodextrins are plant-based ingredients used in food, obtained from cereals (maize and wheat) and potatoes. They belong to the Carbohydrates family.
Maltodextrins are white powders, neutral in taste with very little or no sweetness. They have a calorific value of 4 kcal/g (similar to all other carbohydrates).
Maltodextrins are widely used in food formulations and have been for almost half a century.
Maltodextrins are obtained from starch, through a process that uses water to break down carbohydrates into shorter chains of molecules. In essence, enzymes are added to slightly break down the starch molecules – long chains of bound glucose molecules – into shorter chains of glucose molecules, which are then dried. The reaction is similar to the digestion mechanism in the human body when one eats food containing starch (e.g. in pasta or potatoes) but less complete.
