Modification of Corn Starch and Assessment of Its Function as a Fat Replacer

In recent years, there is a trend towards increased consumption of reduced fat products. Therefore, there has been and will continue to be a demand for reduced fat products. Reduced-fat dairy products can be produced by partially replacing the fat content of the milk base with low calorie products known as fat replacers. The present investigation was carried out to examine the effect of modified corn starch as a fat replacer on reduced-fat cream, in comparison to the full-fat cream. Low fat creams were manufactured from acid treated corn starch (ATS) and acid treated cross-linked corn starch (ATCLS) by replacing 5, 10 and 15% of their fat contents with modified starches. A 30% fat cream was considered as control. Energy values, texture firmness and sensory scores were determined during storage. Reduction of 5, 10 and 15% fat content reduced the energy content of the creams about 7.25, 14.5 and 21.6% respectively. ATS creams were firmer than ATCLS creams at the same concentrations of starch. Creams treated with ATS those ATCLS (10 and 15%) had unacceptable firm textures. Control received the highest flavor score followed by ATCLS cream and ATS cream at 5% starch concentration. Good quality low fat creams might be produced by supplementing ATCLS and ATS at 5% starch concentration. The added starch assists in providing a creamy body and minimal oil separation without the use of any other stabilizer.