X-Pand’R 683 is a pre-gelatinized waxy maize starch, and is designed to extend the range of textures that the company can offer to manufacturers of snacks and baked products.
For example, the starch provides a crispy coating for the adhesion of nuts and dried fruit on baked goods; better moisture retention in cakes, cookies and muffins; crispness for extruded snacks; and expansion and crispy texture for formed and sheeted snacks like snack crackers and snack chips, Tate & Lyle said.
Manager of texturants, R&D product development Thomas Hutton told FoodNavigator-USA.com that the new starch creates “crispy, crunchy, cohesive” textures.
“It allows you to maintain a crisp texture with a uniform air cell network,” he said. “One advantage is it aids in the development of a pliable dough, but without stickiness.”
The product, which would be listed on product labels as ‘food starch (modified)’, comes as a powder to be incorporated with manufacturers’ dry mixes, and can be custom blended to suit manufacturers’ specific formulation requirements.
Healthy snacks
The company’s marketing communications manager Pashen Black said that the starch was developed primarily for the snack food industry for customers looking for a healthful profile and a crispy, crunchy texture.
“Consumers are snacking more,” she said. “…A lot of the diets, especially in the US, are suggesting that consumers graze more. It can be used in better for you products to create a really great texture that consumers are seeking.”
Black added that another advantage of the starch is that it can be used along with Tate & Lyle’s other ingredients, such as its fiber ingredients and sweeteners, in order to tailor snack products to match manufacturer and consumer expectations.