T. Kuti, A. Hegyi, E. Horváth
Campden and Chorleywood Food Industry Development Institute, Hungary
As in other countries, obesity is a serious health issue in Hungary. Our work, funded by the Hungarian Government, aimed to develop “low calorie menus” (relevant to the Food industry) consisting of expected flavours while exploring the effects of different additives on sensory attributes. Traditional Hungarian meals – e.g. stews - are flavoursome but often rather heavy, hence the main objective of this project was to learn more about the effects of fat replacers on the foods’ sensory characteristics. Using the results of these experiments we aimed to develop light but traditional meal options.
The model sample was Hungarian pork stew. All samples were prepared according to the same recipe, but with different fats and fat replacers. The effects of 6 different fats (fat, sunflower oil, margarine 70%, margarine 50%, palm oil, walnut oil), and 2 fat replacers (Z-Trim and N-oil) and their combination – 14 samples in total - were studied in the experiments. A sample made with 100% fat was used as control sample The assessments were carried out with 8 trained assessors in 2 replications using descriptive profiling.
Analysis of Variance and Principal Component Analysis were used for evaluation of the results. The following main differences were detected among the samples. Samples with sunflower oil showed the most vivid colour, the thickest fat layer and most intense fatty mouth-feel. The sample prepared according to the originally recipe with 100% fat and samples made with fat replacers were the most balanced samples. A slightly saltier, hotter flavour and thicker texture distinguished the sample made with fat replacers from the control sample.
Our results showed that the application of the tested fat replacers did not have a negative effect on the samples’ sensory characteristics and can help to reduce the fat content by 50%. On the basis of these results a light version of a traditional Hungarian stew with a delicious flavour can be developed to provide an alternative in the market.
Acknowledgement:
GVOP – 3.1.3. 2004-05 0352/3.0
