Food Marketing & Technology - India May 2019 | Page 22

Cover Story Figure 2: CAVAMAX® Enhances Cake Texture of Egg-free Cake Recipes - Sensory Evaluation a long shelf life, may contain cholesterol and are potentially allergenic. Cyclodextrins offer an alternative way of producing oil-in-water emulsions. The interior of this ring-shaped sugar molecule is lipophilic, while its exterior is hydrophilic, allowing it to interact with the food matrix in many different ways. Residual fatty acid chains of triglycerides can slip into the interior of the cyclodextrin, for example, stabilizing the interfaces of the otherwise immiscible oil and water phases of the emulsion. In this way, cyclodextrin can be added to many products as a replacement for classic animal-based emulsifiers or emulsifying ingredients, such as egg or dairy proteins. By using cyclodextrins, the industry can completely omit egg from spreads, mayonnaise and fine bakery wares, and market products that are labeled accordingly. The option of eliminating ingredients like eggs, which, while valuable, pose certain hygienic risks, is important in a number of respects. On the one hand, doing so allows industry to do a better job of meeting its food quality and consumer protection responsibilities – which is the goal of industryspecific quality systems such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). On the other hand, omitting ingredients like these makes it easier to keep supply chains, price fluctuations and manufacturing control, (see figure 2). costs under The trend toward entirely or at least partly dispensing with foods that contain animal products – and looking instead to vegan or vegetarian fare – is increasingly popular and satisfies the desire of many people to eat more consciously and sustainably. And it is especially in this regard that demands and expectations have been growing Cyclodextrins - Magic Molecules Cyclodextrins are natural degradation products of starch. They are bioengineered from plant- based raw materials such as corn or potatoes with the aid of enzymes. Special enzymes – cyclodextrin glycosyltransferases, abbreviated to CGTases – cut individual pieces out of the helically wound structure of amylose (a fraction of starch) and join them to form a ring-shaped oligosaccharide – the cyclodextrin. The exact number of glucose units determines whether α-, β- or γ-cyclodextrin is formed: alpha- cyclodextrins consist of six glucose units, beta-cyclodextrins have seven, while gamma-cyclodextrins Food Marketing & Technology 22 May 2019 are made up of eight. In turn, the number of units determines the size of the molecule’s ring and cavity. Gamma-cyclodextrins usually have a diameter of between 7.5 and 8.3 angstrom, whereas the diameter of alphacyclodextrins is just 5.3 angstrom. Gammacyclodextrins can therefore accommodate larger guest molecules than their much smaller alpha-cyclodextrin counterparts. A key property of cyclodextrins is their hydrophilic (water-loving) exterior and their lipophilic (fat-loving) cavity. This cavity can hold lipophilic guest molecules, so long as they are the right size and exhibit the right properties. Van der Waals forces hold the guest molecule inside the cavity without chemically modifying it.