Xylose

What is xylose?

Xylose or wood sugar is a simple sugar (a monosaccharide) extracted from wood, sugar cane or coconuts ^[4]. It also naturally occurs in small amounts in berries, spinach, broccoli, and pears and as part of dietary fiber called arabinoxylan.

Nutrition Facts for Xylose

• Calories per gram = 2.4 ^[2]
• Glycemic index = low ^[4]
• Sweetness relative to sucrose = 40% ^[3-p.65]
• Net carbs = 60%

Xylose Uses

Xylose is used as a sweetener and as a substrate for the production of a sugar alcohol xylitol.

Xylose and Cooking

• D-Xylose is available as a white crystalline powder ^[1].
• Xylose is a sweetener, 40% as sweet as sucrose ^[3].
• Xylose is a reducing sugar, which means it can undergo a Maillard browning reaction in the presence of amino acids.
• Melting point = 293-302 °F (145-150 °C) ^[1]