Invert sugar
Sugar split, by acid or an enzyme, into glucose and fructose: sweeter than sugar, slow to crystallise and good at holding water. A little keeps ganache and cakes soft for longer, and sorbets and ice creams softer and smoother. Trimoline is the best-known brand.
sweet · honey-like · keeps things moist
Kinds
- Invert sugar paste (trimoline)
- Thick and white — the pastry-kitchen kind.
- Golden syrup
- Partly inverted, with a caramel taste of its own.
- Honey
- Mostly glucose and fructose already, but with its own flavour.
If you can't find it
Baking shops and online.
The same, or golden syrup
You lose neutrality — both taste of themselves.
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Pastry and cake-decorating suppliers.
- Worth knowing
- Swap it for part of the sugar, not all — around 10–30% is common; more turns things sticky and browns them faster. To make your own, bring sugar, half its weight of water and a pinch of citric acid or cream of tartar to the boil and simmer gently for 20–30 minutes. It's less fully inverted than bought, but it works.