Functional characterization of steam jet-cooked buckwheat flour as a fat replacer in cake-baking.
BACKGROUND
With rising consumer awareness of obesity, the food industry has a market-driven impetus to develop low-fat or fat-free foods with acceptable taste and texture. Fancy buckwheat flour was thus subjected to steam jet-cooking and the performance of the resulting product in cake-baking was evaluated as a fat replacer.


RESULTS
Steam jet-cooking caused structural breakdown and starch gelatinization of buckwheat flour, thus increasing its water hydration properties. In the pasting measurements, steam jet-cooked buckwheat flour exhibited high initial viscosity, while no peak viscosity was observed. Also, the suspensions of steam jet-cooked buckwheat flour exhibited shear-thinning behaviors, which were well characterized by the power law model. When shortening in cakes was replaced with steam jet-cooked buckwheat gels, the specific gravity of cake batters significantly increased, consequently affecting cake volume after baking. However, shortening replacement with steam jet-cooked buckwheat up to 20% by weight appeared to be effective in producing cakes as soft as the control without volume loss.


CONCLUSIONS
When buckwheat flour was thermomechanically modified by steam jet-cooking, it was successfully incorporated into cake formulations for shortening up to 20% by weight, producing low-fat cakes with comparable volume and textural properties to the control.
Min
Bockki
B
Department of Food Science and Technology and Carbohydrate Bioproduct Research Center, Sejong University, Seoul 143-747, Korea.
Lee
Seung Mi
SM
Yoo
Sang-Ho
SH
Inglett
George E
GE
Lee
Suyong
S
D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D003116:Color; D003296:Cooking; D019612:Fagopyrum / Q000737:chemistry*; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000032:analysis*; D019358:Fat Substitutes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005524:Food Technology; D055951:Functional Food / Q000032:analysis; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013535:Suspensions / Q000737:chemistry; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
D019358:Fat Substitutes; D005782:Gels; D013535:Suspensions; D014867:Water