Salient Features of Low Fat Spreads

In addition to its low fat content, spreadability and organoleptic quality are two important properties of a low-fat spread.

 

i. Spreadability

One of the most important properties of spreads from the consumer’s viewpoint is spreadability. It is desirable that product should be spreadable at refrigeration temperature i.e. 50C. To attain such a state of plasticity in a product, there are three essential requirements:

•  There must be two phases, solid and liquid.
•  The solid phase must be so finely dispersed that the crystal mass is held together by lateral cohesive forces.
•  There must be a proper proportion between the solid and liquid phases. If the spread is deficient in solids, not enough crystal will be present to hold the liquid oil. This is noted when product oozes out oil. If the solids content is too high,
•  the interlocking crystals, coupled with insufficient liquid, will cause a brittle texture (breaking into pieces).

 

ii. Organoleptic properties

The organoleptic attributes of the spread are influenced by (besides the flavour of the raw materials used):

•   Lightness of the emul-sion.
•  Melting profile of the fat.
• Storage condition of the finished product.

The other important oral quality aspect called “coolness” is the coldness felt on the tongue, when fat crystals melt at nearly the same temperature, absorbing heat during dispersion in the mouth. The droplet size (in an O/W spread) also affects oral properties of the aqueous phase and it should be uniformly small. A mar-garine in which about 95% of the droplets has a diameter of 1-5 micrometers and 4% of 5-10 micrometers and 1% of 10 - 20 micrometers is described as ‘light on the palate’.