Technical Note #001: Why PAC Is Not Enough – The Power of Carbohydrate Profiling in Gelato Pro Software

When formulating gelato or sorbet, two indicators are traditionally used to balance a recipe: Sweetening Power (POD) and Anti-Freezing Power (PAC). While these two values are essential, they alone do not describe the real behavior of carbohydrates in a mix.

Two ingredients can have similar PAC and POD values while possessing very different sugar compositions. Each sugar has specific physical and chemical properties that significantly influence the behavior of the final product.

This is why Gelato Pro Software adopts a more advanced approach.

Beyond PAC and POD, the software stores a detailed carbohydrate profile for every ingredient, specifically distinguishing between:

• Fructose

• Glucose

• Sucrose

• Lactose

• Maltose

• Galactose

• Trehalose

• Polyols

  
  

These data points are not merely for reference; they are directly utilized by the Gelato Pro Software calculation engine for all physical simulations performed by the software.

This detailed modeling enables greater precision in calculating:

• Recipe balancing

• Freezing curves

• Hardness profiles

• Viscosity at serving temperature

• Concentration of various sugars in the aqueous phase

• Concentration and saturation rate of lactose, two key indicators for assessing the risk of crystallization (often called "sandy" texture).

  
  

This approach also offers exceptional flexibility. When a new sugar enters the market (such as trehalose, allulose, isomaltulose, or various polyols), you simply need to input its carbohydrate profile. It is then immediately integrated into the calculation engine, without any need to modify the software's underlying algorithms.

This philosophy defines the core mission of Gelato Pro Software: relying on the actual properties of ingredients to provide the most accurate calculations possible.

In formulation, the quality of your results depends entirely on the quality of your data.