Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: September 2, 2004
Publication Date: April 1, 2005
Citation: Lee, S., Kim, S., Inglett, G.E., Carriere, C.J. 2005. Effect of shortening replacement with Oatrim on the physical and rheological properties of cakes. Cereal Chemistry. 82(2):120-124. Interpretive Summary: In the food markets, there has been a great interest in nutraceuticals and functional foods that provide special health-enhancing effects as well as basic nutrition. In this report, Oatrim, a nutraceutical, was evaluated as a fat replacer in baked foods. The results showed that no significant changes in the physical and rheological properties of cakes were observed when the shortening was replaced with Oatrim, up to 20% by weight. Also, the Oatrim cakes could provide beneficial health effects by reducing the calories as well as maintaining an acceptable mouthfeel. Hence, this nutraceutical shows an excellent potential as a fat replacer and nutrifier for a variety of food products.
Technical Abstract: Oatrim (oat beta-glucan amylodextrins) was evaluated as a fat substitute in a cake system. The physical and rheological properties of cakes containing shortening replaced with 20, 40, and 60% by weight of Oatrim were characterized. The increase in the specific gravity of the cakes and the decrease in the viscosity as more shortening was replaced with Oatrim, were correlated with the change in the cake volume. The number of air bubbles present in the cake batters varied significantly; however, the size of the observed bubbles did not change. The cakes containing more Oatrim displayed a higher starch gelatinization temperature due to the amylodextrins in the Oatrim. The dynamic rheological properties of the cakes were investigated during baking and correlated with the differential scanning calorimetry results. The oscillatory shear storage moduli decreased upon initial heating, then increased due to starch gelatinization; and finally reached a plateau value which varied based on the sample composition. Moreover, increased replacement of shortening with Oatrim resulted in higher observed oscillatory shear storage moduli. The cakes prepared with up to 20% by weight of Oatrim did not evidence significant changes in softness (p <0.01) and generally exhibited similar physical properties to the control cake.