Week 9: Practical 4 (Fat Replacer)

This would be our last practical. We did experiment on the effect of fat content and fat replacer in cookies.

The objective of this experiments are:

1. To evaluate the effects of emulsifier & fat-replacer in cookies.

2. To evaluate the palatability, nutritive value of reduced-fat cookies.

Fats and oils are utilized for a range of products in the consumer market including cookies. Cookies are traditionally high-fat food products that acquire texture and flavor characteristics from fat (Malovany, 1995; Adair et al., 2001). Fat is very important ingredient of cookies, especially soft cookies which contain large amounts of fat. Fat contribute texture and pleasing mouth-feel and positively impacts flavor intensity and perception.

Several studies have reduced fat content of cookies due to health issue which concerned by most consumers. However, decreasing the amount of added fat had a great impact on textural attributes of cookies and produced less acceptable than high-fat cookies and with differences in flavor and texture more pronounced as the level of fat replacement increased (Adair, 2001). According to Sanchez and friends (1995), reduction of fat in cookies resulted in a chewy texture and a low moisture content.

Fat in cookies and similar baked products can be replaced by carbohydrate or protein origin. 

Carbohydrate-based fat mimetics like processed starches imitate fat by binding water and to provide lubricity, body and a pleasing mouth sensation (Bath et al, 1992). Conforti and friends (1996) reported that tenderness of biscuits decreased with the increase of fat substitution by pectin-, gum- or oat-based fat mimetics.

Week 5: Practical (Starch)

For our second practical, we did an experiment on the functions of starch as thickening agents and gelling agents in food. 

Starch is the major storage polysaccharide found in plants. Starches are found widely applied across the food and beverage industry. Starch selection will depend on its use and the specific requirements of the product including sensory properties, methods of manufacture, co-ingredient and shelf-life expectations (Murphy et al., 2009).

Starches consist of two types of molecules:

i) amylose (linear α-D-glucose) 

ii)amylopectin (branched α-D-glucose) 

Their compositions vary and are depending on the botanic origin (Kurakeke et al., 2009; Garcia-Alonso et al., 1999). 

Starches have the capacity to undergo the process of:

• gelatinization
• gel formation
• retrogradation
• dextrinization. 

The concentration and ratio of amylose and amylopectin in starch determines the degree to which these processes take place and determine the physicochemical properties of starch, such as pasting, gelatinization and retrogradation (Kurakake, et al., 2009; Thitipraphunkul, 2003). These physicochemical properties are important in improving quality of end product in term of firmer texture, freeze-thaw stability, and mouth feel.

The main function of starch in pudding is to work as gelling agents, maintain texture consistency (from loose and watery to creamy or form gel). They work by absorbing water (or other cooking liquid) into individual starch grains and the cross-bonding between the starch molecules to form a gel structure. The water holding ability is greatly related to the ratio of amylose-amylopectin in starch granules while amylose starch exhibits much cross-bonding.

Starch is used as thickening agents in sauce making. Chili sauce is a homogenously blend of chili pulp, seeds and other ingredients intended for use as a seasoning or condiment. The process of swelling is essential to achieve the correct viscosity and desired characteristic of chili sauce. Different starches will contribute varying degree of thickening power and translucency to starch pastes. To use the various starches to best advantage, it is necessary to be familiar with the characteristics of each type.

Week 7: Practical 3 (Leavening agents)

Experiment 3: Effects of processing methods & types of leavening agents in baked products

Introduction:

The objective for this experiment are first to study the effects of different process methods and flour substation on the characteristic of bread. Second, to study the effects of different process methods & flour substation on the characteristic of bread.

Gluten is one of three main structure builders in baked good products and important in defining the final shape and volume of many baked goods. Gluten forms and develops when flour is mixed with water. Small changes in a formula or mixing methods can have large effects on gluten development. It is important with any baked good to know when to increase gluten, when to decrease and how to make changes.

There are three main ways that gluten develops. One way is by mixing and kneading, sometimes called mechanical dough development. A second way is by chemical dough development and finally is developed over time during bulk fermentation and final proof.

Air, steam and carbon dioxide are the source of leavening in baked and some fried products, for example bread and doughnut. When the batter or dough is heated, air in them begins to expand and exert pressure against the cell walls. If baking powder, yeast or combination of acidic and alkaline ingredients is present, carbon dioxide will be generated in the product. The optimal circumstance for leavening most baked products is to incorporate air uniformly throughout the batter or dough during mixing. On the other hand, too much pressure from leavening agents can strain cell walls to the point that they rupture and the products falls.

Week 3: Practical (Candies)

For our first practical, we did an experiment on the effects of cooking temperatures and cooking duration on crystallization of candies.

There are 3 objectives for this experiment which are:

1. To be able to explain the interrelationship of the boiling temperature of sugar solution and the firmness of the resulting candy.

2. Identify the factors influencing the texture of a crystalline candy and explain the action of each.

3. To be able to study the effects of incorporating sugar alcohol in soft candy. (In term of candy sweetness, clarity & chewiness)

Most candies are made by heating and boiling table sugar; until enough water evaporates to produce a sugar concentration that yields a candy of the desired consistency. Successful candy making depends on controlling crystals made of sugar. Each grain of sugar is a tiny crystal and the important concern in candy making is what happens to the sugar as it cools. There are a number of stages that sugar goes through, from soft ball through hard crack, to create different types of candy. Besides, other ingredients added to candy, like chocolate and acid citric, affect the consistency of that candy as well as the flavor and color.

Sugar-free candy frequently contains artificial sweeteners, such as sugar alcohol. Sugar-free candies do contain some carbohydrates; however, they tend to contain fewer carbs than candies made with real sugar. Sugar alcohol is one type of artificial sweetener. It belongs to family of polyols, and can occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. Sugar alcohols commonly found in candies include mannitol, sorbitol, isomalt, maltitol, lactitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates. Switching to sugar-free candy is one way to satisfy your sweet tooth while also reducing calories. For these reasons, sugar-free candy can represent a healthy choice when compared with candy that contains sugar.

Week 3

This week, we learned about carbohydrate. In this chapter, we looked into carbohydrates and concentrated specifically on sugar and their functions in food. 

Carbohydrate can be devided into 2 categories which are saccharides and polysaccharides.  Saccharides or sugar can be divided into 2 categories which are monosaccharides and disaccharides. 

Monosaccharides is the simplest unit of carbohydrates, whereas disaccharides are 2 units of monosaccharides that are joined by glycosidic bond. 

While polisaccharides are complex sugars made from multiple sugar molecule units that are joined by glycosidic bond.

Functions of sugar include:

Although the main reason for the use of sugar is its sweet taste, sugar has many other functions in food technology. The most important among these are that added sugar in foods acts as a sweetener, preservative, texture modifier, fermentation substrate, flavouring and colouring agent, bulking agent. The various methods of use of sugar are based on its physical and chemical properties. The replacement of sugar by the newly available sweeteners is difficult if the sweetness values or physical and chemical properties of the substitutes differ greatly from those of sucrose.

Week 2

The class was postponed to wednesday since 31th august was a public holiday. I hope its not too late for me to wish Happy Merdeka Day to all Malaysian..:)

During this class, I learned about how to read a journal and also on how to plan for an experiment. There must be a purpose behind every experiment. Each subject or topic must have something to research on or  to be solved. In doing experiment, we must look for  other recent researches that  are related to our topics.  We also must examine the current dimensions of food studies which have been categorized into 3 dimensions which are palatability, nutritional value and also on organic concerns.

My lecturer also  gave us a homework which requires us  to predict on the food trend for year 2015.

In my opinion, the food trend for year 2015 would be fusion food. Fusion food or fusion cuisine is a cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions. Cuisines of this type are not categorized according to any one particular cuisine style and have played a part in the food innovations.

Week 2: Tutorial

Today my lecturer gave us the topic for our assignment which required us to make a healthy version of pie with innovative filling. We were divided into 3 groups (3+3+2) by draw and my partner is Ken..hehe We have to create a gluten-free pie and our target is for celiac diseases patients.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine.  When people with celiac disease eat gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye and barley), their body mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine. These attacks lead to damage on the villi, small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine, that promote nutrient absorption. When the villi get damaged, nutrients cannot be absorbed properly into the body.

Me and partner discussed about what are we planning to make for our product during the tutorial time. The pie can be either sweet or savoury. Since it is a gluten-free product, so we have to replace the wheat flour with other types of gluten free flour as such as rice flour, potato flour, tapioca flour, corn flour and etc. At first, we planned to make a healthier version of ice cream pie(who doesn't like ice cream, right?), by replacing the sugar with  sweetener or maybe yoghurt ice cream. But we have to changed our plan because ice cream machine is not available in the R&D Kitchen also we are lack of time as we only have 2 hours to prepare for our product. Still not finalize n still thinking..hurm..idea..idea...please come..

Me and my partner. We are crazy and these crazy people are gonna make u a crazy pie ever..kikiki