THE IMPACT OF MALTODEXTRIN-BASED FAT MIMETICS ON RHEOLOGICAL AND TEXTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EDIBLE VEGETABLE FAT

The functionality of two types of maltodextrins as fat mimetics was studied. Vegetable fat was replaced at levels of 16.7, 33.3 and 50% by different aqueous gels of maltodextrin: Pmdx (potato maltodextrin gel) and WMmdx (waxy maize maltodextrin gel). Vegetable fat without the addition of fat mimetics was used as a control sample. Steady shear viscosity, hysteresis and dynamic moduli were measured at semi-solid conditions (30C), whereas textural measurements were determined in the solid state (20C). Up to 50% fat replacement without much change in firmness could be achieved with WMmdx. However, blends containing Pmdx expressed significant decrease in firmness. Fat replacement caused a strong increase in dynamic moduli, especially with WMmdx. Steady shear viscosity was increased at replacement levels ≥33.3% and to a larger extent with WMmdx. In contrast to Pmdx, incorporation of WMmdx did not affect the steady shear hysteresis of the blends. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Edible vegetable fat serves as an ingredient in many foods. In confectionary fat fillings, the vegetable fat is included to control texture and spreadability. Typical confectionary fat filling contains 30–35% fat. Because confectionary products are high in calories, development of reduced fat product with desirable taste and texture is a very challenging task. In this paper the capability of hydrated maltodextrin gel particles to replace certain amounts of fat in different foods was investigated. Therefore, rheological and textural properties of blends consisted of vegetable fat and different type, content and concentration of aqueous maltodextrin gel were determined. Hence, a step toward food products containing water stabilized by small amount of gelling maltodextrin with rheological and textural properties of conventional food product was made.