Ingredients

Water Binders for Better Body:

Improving Texture and Stability
with Natural Hydrocolloids
N
ATURAL gums and seaweed hydrocolloids have been known for ages
The shelf stability and for their thickening, binding and stabilising properties. The relevance of
their functionality as texturants or texture enhancers, however, is fairly
mouthfeel of dairy and new. All hydrocolloids thicken, jellify, stabilise, give texture, body and consistency
other processed food whenever it is needed.
products can be easily The search for natural ingredients with outstanding body-building properties
improved by using natural leads inevitably to ingredients such as Guar Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Xanthan
hydrocolloid gums and Gum, Acacia Gum (Gum Arabic), Agar-Agar and Carrageenans, each one with a
carrageenans. multitude of food applications corresponding to its individual properties. Their
non-genetically modified vegetable origins are a plus in terms of food safety and
acceptability. As for their nutritional value, they are increasingly becoming
recognised as a natural source of dietary fibres and, hence, a valuable contribution
By Anita Bénech
to low-fat and low-calorie recipes.

General properties of hydrocolloids

Hydrocolloids are used either alone or in combination to achieve specific
synergies between their respective functional properties. While stabilising,
emulsifying, thickening and/or jellifying the solid or liquid products, they also
enhance the whole food’s structure and improve the mouthfeel. Depending on
the nature of the food products, hydrocolloids provide either firmness or softness;
in any case a stable consistency to the finished products.
In bakery products they bind the dough moisture and improve its retention,
which in turn keeps the dough fresh during its shelf life. They inhibit possible
syneresis in yoghurts, impede flocculation (e.g. in milk beverages) during shelf
storage and stabilise food and beverage emulsions in general. They strengthen
the heat stability of dairy products and control melting processes items like ice
creams and frozen desserts. Hydrocolloids have a neutral taste and aroma which
permits a free flavour release of all recipe components. They provide an unctuous
body to fat-reduced products, in which they compensate for the low fat content
with their water-binding ability and texturising properties.
Hydrocolloids also help create a fat-like jellified structure that remains stable
throughout the product’s shelf life and pleasantly
melts in the mouth to yield a full flavour release
Carrageenans confer a smooth texture to milk puddings.
during consumption. This property is widely used
in the production of fat-reduced dairy and meat
products. Hydrocolloids perform a true body-
building function in foodstuffs and act as a warrant
for shape stability, perfect consistency, freshness
and harmonised texture.

Carrageenans as hydrocolloids
Carrageenans form a special subcategory
among the food hydrocolloids. Carrageenan types
kappa, iota, lambda are polysaccharides from
seaweed origin. They belong to the botanical class

32 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2007

 Ingredients
Carrageenans for Dairy Applications
Application
Flavoured milk
Chocolate milk,
UHT/pasteurised
UHT Coffee cream, 9% fat
Whipped dairy topping, 25% fat Foam stability and whey retention
Milk Shake
UHT Soy milk
Flavoured Soy milk
Chocolate Soy beverage
Vanilla/Chocolate sauces,
pourable, cold filled
Spoonable dessert cream,
cold filled
Demouldable dessert,
cold-filled
Flans and Milk puddings,
demouldable, hot filled
Whipped Chocolate
Dessert / Mousse
Soya Dessert, spoonable,
cold filled
Ice Cream, standard and
instant mix powders
Standard Cream Cheese,
gelatine-free, regular and low fat
Processed Cheese, regular
and imitation
Cheese-Cake, gelatine-free
Hot/cold instant milk drinks
(powder formulations)
Cold instant Dessert crèmes,
Béchamel and milk puddings
(powder formulations)
Hot instant milk puddings,
demouldable or spoonable
Source: Alfred L. Wolff, Germany.
34 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2007
Main functionalities Benefits
Stabilising, thickening, mouthfeel and body Improved shelf life
Suspension of cocoa particles, Improved shelf life
Protein stabilisation,mouthfeel and body control
Thickening, stabilising, mouthfeel and body Improved shelf-life
Improved stability
Foam stability, viscosity, mouthfeel and body
Stabilisation, Thickening, mouthfeel Improved shelf life
Stabilisation, Thickening, mouthfeel Improved shelf life
Suspension of cocoa particles, protein stabilisation Mouthfeel and body
control
Thickening, body and mouthfeel Texture control
Viscosity, creaminess, body and mouthfeel Texture control
Gelling, thickening, body and mouthfeel Texture control
Gelling, thickening, body and mouthfeel Texture control
Gelling, foam reinforcement and stability Texture control
Gelling, mouthfeel improvement Texture control
Melt down control, whey off prevention, Creamy,
avoid ice crystals improved shelf life
Water binding, spreadability, mouthfeel Texture control
Gelling, water binding Texture control
Gelling, water binding Texture control
Thickening, swelling, mouthfeel and body control
Gelling, swelling, body and mouthfeel, creaminess Texture control
Gelling, mouthfeel, creaminess Texture control

The right carrageenan can give dairy desserts a smooth and creamy consistency with a pleasant
mouthfeel. All pictures courtesy of Alfred L. Wolff.
Rhodophyceae and the genera Chondrus, Euchema,
Gigartina.
They are especially known for their thermoreversible
thickening and gelling properties, as well as their outstanding
ability to bind water, inhibit the syneresis effect, suspend
and stabilise emulsions. All these properties are widely
appreciated in the food industry, for example:
• in milk beverages, milk-based creams and puddings,
whipped mousse, cream cheese, flans and milk shakes,
gelatine-free creams, gelatine-free cheese cakes;
• in water gels for dessert jellies, pastry fillings and glazings,
dressings and sauces;
• in gelatine-free marshmallows and gum candies;
• in sausages, fish and meat pâtés, corned beef, hamburgers
and chicken burgers, chicken nuggets, meat or fish in aspic
and pre-cooked dishes on fish and meat basis.
The table on the left shows the versatile functionality of
carrageenans in dairy products, including low-fat dairy
applications.
Making food fit for eating out
Food consumption has moved away from daily home
cooking to public dining places, which means that people
are becoming more likely to consume industrial food
products on a regular basis. Some of this food is partially
consumed at home after purchase, partially at work in
collective restaurants and catering services as well as
Ingredients
outdoors in cafés, restaurants, snack shops, gourmet malls
or quick gastronomy services. All these channels for
preparing and selling food offer chilled, frozen and
convenience products that require a stable texture and
constant freshness during their shelf life, whether they are
consumed within one day, one month or one year. This is
the key role of hydrocolloids across an increasing range of
foodstuffs: including frozen meals and chilled foods, pre-
cooked ready-meals for the microwave, pizzas, frozen bakery
and pastry, ice creams, frozen desserts and dairy products.
Meat products, preserves, sauces and dressings, health or
dietary foods, sport-nutrition, vegetarian foods, kosher and
halal foodstuffs and of course low-fat and low-calorie
foodstuffs equally require the functionality of hydrocolloids.
Quality standards and safety
In addition, Carrageenans as well as Guar Gum, Locust
Bean Gum, Xanthan Gum, Gum Arabic and Agar-Agar from
Alfred L. Wolff encompass a wide range of standardised
qualities with various granulometries and viscosities as well
as customised blends according to the manufacturers’ specific
recipes. Our company is certified ISO and HACCP. The
hydrocolloids correspond to the Halal and Kosher norms.
Enquiry No: 022
Anita Bénech is Marketing Manager at Alfred L. Wolff.
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2007 35