Flour emulsifier

There are a few areas in the subjects covered by this book where unfortunately the same words or are used to describe different things. They are gluten and flour improver. In food law a flour improver would cover a substance added to flour to improve its performance, usually in bread. Such a substance is ascorbic acid. In a bakery, the expression flour improver covers a mixture that is added to the dough. In this context a flour improver will contain not only substances like ascorbic acid but also, for example, enzyme active soya flour, emulsifiers and possibly fat. 

Functional Blends. The term functional blend refers to various ingredient blends formulated to achieve a certain objective such as fat reduction. An example of this blend consists of water, partially hydrogenated canola oil, hydrolyzed beef plasma, tapioca flour, sodium alginate, and salt. This blend is designed to replace animal fat and is typically used at less than 25% of the finished product. Another functional blend is composed of modified food starch, rice flour, salt, emulsifier, and flavor. A recommended formula is 90% meat (with 10% fat), 7% added water, and 3% seasoning blend... 

This section covers all the additives and treatments that are added or applied to flour. Some of these qualify as permitted flour treatments in law. The term flour improver is also used as a synonym. In this work the term improver is restricted to the compound improvers that are added to bread doughs. These mixtures tend to contain not only flour treatments but other required ingredients as well such as emulsifiers. The statutory additions that are made to flour for nutritional reasons are excluded. Also excluded are some of the substances that have historically been used but have now been universally banned. Some substances such as potassium bromate that are banned in the UK but are still legal elsewhere are covered. 

Two types of these emulsifiers are calcium and sodium stearoyl lactylates (CSL, SSL) and diacetyl tartaric esters of mono and diglycerides (DATEM esters). The bread and flour regulations 1984 permit the use of SSL at up to 5 g kg-1 in all bread while DATEM esters are permitted in all bread without limit. Typical use levels are around 0.5% on flour weight. CSL and SSL have been permitted in the USA since 1961. 

The maximum amounts of vegetable food protein flours that can be substituted in bread without affecting loaf volume and texture are 5-10% (depending upon the source), and 18-20% can be substituted in cookies without affecting spread and surface characteristics (26). The quantity of vegetable protein flour that can be accommodated in bread can be increased substantially by pre-toasting and by the use of approximately 1.5% sodium stearoyl 2-lactylate (28) and other emulsifiers. 

Flour treatment agent (FTA) Glazing agent Substance (other than emulsifiers) which are added to flour or dough to improve baking quality Substance which, when applied to the external surface of a foodstuff, imparts a shiny appearance or provides a protective coating... 

Food colours Flavours and sweeteners Fat emulsifiers and stabilising agents Flour improvers - antistaling agents and bleaches Antioxidants Preservatives... 

Data in Table I show that emulsion capacity of peanut flour decreased with increasing flour or protein concentration while emulsion viscosity increased. This phenomenon was also demonstrated by McWatters and Holmes (2D. A decrease in flour particle size increased emulsion capacity and viscosity appreciably. Increasing the rate of mixing, however, decreased emulsion capacity but increased viscosity. Increased speeds produce greater shear rate, which decreases the size of the oil droplet thus, there is an increase in the surface area of the oil to be emulsified by the same amount of soluble protein (23, 24). 

Lin et al. ( 6) measured the emulsion capacity of defatted sunflower seed products. Data in Table VII show that sunflower flour was superior in emulsifying capacity to all other products tested. The emulsions were in the form of fine foams and were stable during subsequent heat treatments. The diffusion-extraction processes employed to remove phenolic compounds dramatically reduced emulsion capacity, although isolating the protein improved emulsion capacity to some extent. 

Table 1 (Part 1). Multiple regression models for prediction of nitrogen solubility and emulsifying properties of soy flour as influenced by pH and salt concentration.

Cakes essentially are emulsified slurries before baking. Considerable use is made of sugar (with corn sweeteners increasingly used), starch in low-protein content flours, and fat. Emulsifiers have three functions in cake systems to improve air incorporation to disperse shortening into smaller particles to maximize the number of air cells and to... 

Lin et al. (15) showed that sunflower meal was superior to soybean and sunflower concentrates or isolates In emulsion capacity. McWatters and Cherry (9) compared select functional properties of defatted soybean, peanut, field pea, and pecan flours and showed that major seed storage proteins were important in emulsifying and foaming properties. Protein solubility was related to the quality of the emulsions and foams. Behavioral characteristics contributed by nonprotein components that occur naturally In the seeds, especially carbohydrates, were Implicated. 

Figure 13. Solubility and emulsifying properties of proteins in peanut flour treated with proteolytic enzymes. (H) Not treated, pH 6.9 (O) trypsin, pH 7.6 (Q) bromelain, pH 4.5 (9) pepsin, pH 2.0.

Emulsion Capacity. Enzymatic digestion of proteins beyond 10 min, except the trypsin-treated sample for 30 min, destroyed emulsifying capacity of the flour (Figure 13). Apparently, hydrolysis substantially altered protein surface activity strengths and the ability of the protein to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions. This assumption agrees with earlier work showing decreased emulsion capacity of peanut flour fermented with fungi (27). 

Egg replacers. Lecithins are used in conjunction with dairy and vegetable proteins in an attempt to functionally mimic the lipoprotein complex of egg yolks. A coagulable egg replacer based on whey protein, polyunsaturated fat, and lecithin has been described (31). Another formulation included soy and wheat flour blended with oil, lecithin, carrageenan, and polysorbate 60 to replace up to 75% dry or liquid eggs in a variety of mixes and prepared foods (31). Dashiell (31) also reported on a lipoprotein complex formed from soy isolate, oil, carbohydrate, and various emulsifiers, which is claimed to be useful for whole or partial replacement of egg yolks in baked goods. 

Mustard is generally used in mayonnaise in the form of a flour. There are two varieties of mustard white and brown. White mustard is hot to taste but practically odorless. The brown variety, on the other hand, has a sharp odor. Therefore, the two varieties are blended in various proportions to achieve a desired level of flavor and pungency (99). Mustard contains a glucoside that, when hydrolyzed, releases the pungent oil of mustard, aflyl isothiocyanate. This compound imparts the bite to mayonnaise. According to Corran (100), in addition to its flavor contribution, the nature, the origin, and the method of addition of mustard influence the emulsion. He stresses that mustard is an efficient emulsifier and is effective if incorporated with egg yolk. 

As a result of the variation in the essential oil content and immiscibility of the mustard flour with the vegetable oil, Cummings (101) recommends the use of oil of mustard in place of mustard flour. If oil of mustard is used, the advantage of mustard flour as an emulsifying adjunct and as a possible contributor of color in mayonnaise may be lost. 

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