Margarines product characteristics

TABLE 31. Consumer Margarine Solid Fat Index (SFI) Affect on Product Characteristics. 

Testing techniques for the evaluation of physical properties and other properties of finished margarine products as well as low-fat spreads have been stated to include (4, 91) appearance, oral melting characteristics, oil exudation, slump (collapse), penetrations, spreadability, emulsion viscosity at 35°C (95°F), emulsion drop size, and electrical conductivity. 

In the food products themselves, the presence of surfactants may be critical for obtaining the desired product characteristics. Obvious examples would be in flie preparation of foods such as whipped toppings, foam or sponge cakes, bread, mayonnaise and salad dressings, and ice cream and sherbets. Perhaps less obvious are the surfactants used in candies, chocolates, beverages, margarines, soups and sauces, coffee whiteners, and many, many more. 

Hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin) is a characteristic constituent of butter flavour used for flavouring margarine and can be obtained as a by-product of molasses-based and lactic acid fermentations [49, 71]. The closely related 2,3-butanedione (diacetyl) has a much lower organoleptic threshold than acetoin and is an important strongly butter-like flavour compound in butter and other dairy products [72] in buttermilk, for instance, the diacetyl concentration is only about 2-4 mg [73]. a-Acetolactate (a-AL) is an intermediate of lactic acid bacteria mainly produced from pyruvate by a-acetolactate synthase. In most lactic acid bacteria, a-AL is decarboxylated to the metabolic end product acetoin by a-AL decarboxylase (ALDB) [71] (Scheme 23.5). 

The density of fats and oils is an index of the weight of a measured volume of the material. This property is important not only for designing of equipment but also for the estimation of the solid fat index (SFI). The SFI is related, approximately, to the percentage of solids in a fat at a given temperature. When determined at a number of specified temperatures, it can be especially useful to margarine manufacturers or other processors who need to control the characteristics of their manufactured products by blending. 

The physical state of fats and oils and their crystal structures are important for application of such products. In addition, formulation of products for special applications such as bakery, confectionary, frying, salad dressing, margarines, and spreads requires special characteristics that make the products suitable for such purposes. Thus, each source material will be important for its physical and chemical characteristics and hence suitability as a food component. 

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