Question

Which methods could be used to hydrolyze sucrose to invert sugar nonenzymatically in your kitchen at home?

a.Boil the sucrose solution in water.
b.Add cream of tartar solution (pH =4) to the solution in a warm water bath.
c.Cool the solution and add water, stirring constantly.
e.Add window cleaner (pH = 11) to the solution in a water bath.

Answer 1

Sucrose can be nonenzymatically hydrolyzed into invert sugar by boiling in water or adding cream of tartar in a warm bath, while using window cleaner is unsafe and not recommended.

Step-by-step explanation:

Methods that could be used to hydrolyze sucrose to invert sugar nonenzymatically in your kitchen include boiling the sucrose solution in water and adding cream of tartar solution to the sucrose solution in a warm water bath. Boiling will increase the temperature of the sucrose solution, thereby increasing the rate of hydrolysis, while cream of tartar, which is tartaric acid, provides an acidic environment that can help catalyze the hydrolysis of sucrose into glucose and fructose, resulting in invert sugar.

Window cleaner with a pH of 11 could potentially hydrolyze sucrose, as basic conditions can also promote hydrolysis, but this is not recommended due to the potential hazards and non-food-grade chemicals typically found in window cleaners. Additionally, simply cooling the solution and adding water would not facilitate the hydrolysis of sucrose but would rather dilute the solution.