Writing in the journal Food Hydrocolloids, researchers from India’s Central Food Technological Research Institute report that replacing 50 per cent of the fat with sesame oil and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and sodium stearoyl -2- lactylate (SSL) could lead to low-fat cakes with good textural properties.
“The results presented […] have shown that reduced fat, nutritionally superior cakes with quality characteristics better than control can be prepared by replacing fat with 50 per cent sesame oil and using combination of additives like HPMC and SSL,” wrote the researchers.
“These results should be useful for the production of nutritious cakes by the baking industry on a large scale.”
In addition to the fat reduction, the researchers note an improvement in the fat profile of the resulting cakes, with a 2.4 times decrease in palmitic acid, and a 5.9 times increase in the content of essential fatty acids.
The research taps in to the trend of fat reduction in products as consumers continue to seek out low-fat and low-calorie versions of their favourite foods.
Study details
The Mysore-based researchers formulated cakes, with the fat content replaced by 25, 50, 75 and 100 per cent sesame oil, and two different hydrocolloids (HPMC (Dow Chemicals) or xanthan (Sigma)), and two emulsifiers (glycerolmonostearate (GMS) and SSL - both from Biocon India) tested.
Emulsifiers, or additives that can bind water and oil together in an emulsion, are important in many low-fat foods, where fat is removed, reducing the stability of the formulation. Emulsifiers are often necessary in baked goods and snacks when manufacturers want to remove trans fats for example.
The results showed that total replacement of fat with 50 per cent sesame oil and with HPMC and SSL produced the best results. Cakes were evaluated on the basis of batter viscosity, cake volume and overall quality.
Using the HPMC and SSL combination lead to significant improvements in the microstructure of cake crumb with a smoother structure produced with less cavities and a continuous protein matrix.
The nutritional profile of the cakes also improved, wrote the researchers, with the saturated fat content decreasing by over 30 per cent, and unsaturated fats increasing by , particularly linoleic acid.
Source : Food Hydrocolloids Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2009.02.008“Effect of replacement of fat with sesame oil and additives on rheological, microstructural, quality characteristics and fatty acid profile of cakes” Authors: M. Sowmya, T. Jeyarani, R. Jyotsna, D. Indrani