Tapioca ingredient tweaked for lower fat pastry

06-Sep-2009 - Last updated on 07-Sep-2009 at 09:54 GMT

Ulrick & Short is launching an adapted version of its Delyte F fat replacer for tapioca to reduce the fat content in both sweet and savoury shortcrust pastry.

The UK ingredients supplier has previously enabled fat reduction in sponge cakes and cream fillings using other products in its Delyte range, but pastry has presented a particular challenge.

Company director Andrew Ulrick told FoodNavigator.com that attempts to reduce fat by 10 to 15 per cent resulted in a pastry that was unacceptably tough. For this reason, the Delyte F product has until now been used to retain moisture and increase shelf life in fruit-rich tea loaves.

But following requests from customers for lower fat pastry solutions, the team revisited the ingredient and has now found a way to allow up to 25 per cent fat reduction, mostly from butter but also some shortening.

Ulrick explained that the granulation has been increased to increase the surface area and increase water binding activity.

“When you reduce fat in processed meats, bakery fillings etc you use high levels of water. In pastry you use low levels, so we have to change the granulation top bind lower levels of water,” he said.

Although 25 per cent fat reduction is not enough for manufacturers to make a low fat claim on products, Ulrick called it a “significant reduction” – and it fits in with industry wide efforts to reduce the levels of saturated fats in packaged products.

Pies to please the eyes

Another benefit the company has found is that use of the revised Delyte F can help improve final product quality.

Lack of elasticity in the dough can cause cracking, and conversations with large industrial pie-makers have confirmed that cracking can be a problem, even in full fat versions of products.

However Ulrick said Delyte F has been seen to increase the elasticity, and repeated tests have turned out pies with un-cracked tops.

Reducing the amount of butter would bring cost savings to manufacturers too, as butter is a relatively expensive commodity.

The company is currently conducting trials on using the ingredient in puff pastry, and Ulrick said a version suitable for the products like croissants could be available in the coming months.