The role of thickeners in food processing

Food thickener is one of the most important excipients in the food industry, which mainly plays the role of stabilizing food form in food processing, such as maintaining the stability of suspended slurry, the stability of the degree of smoothness, and the stability of the emulsion system.

In addition, it can improve the touch of food and the stability of the color, aroma, taste and liquid state of processed food. The prominent role of thickener in food processing is mainly manifested in the following aspects.

Food thickeners are hydrophilic polymers. Soluble in water has a great viscosity, so that the system has a thick feeling. When the viscosity of the system increases, the dispersed phase in the system is not easy to aggregate and condense, so it can make the dispersed system stable. Most thickeners have the function of surfactant, can be adsorbed on the surface of the dispersed phase, so that it has a certain hydrophilicity and is easy to disperse evenly in the water system.

Some thickeners, such as gelatin, AGAR and other solutions, are viscous fluids under warm conditions. When the temperature is reduced, the solution molecules are connected into a network structure, the solvent and other dispersing media are all included in the network structure, and the whole system forms a semi-solid without mobility, that is, a gel. Many food processing is to make use of this characteristic of thickener, such as frozen, custard and so on.

Most thickeners belong to polymer materials, and under certain conditions, multiple dispersion media can be absorbed at the same time to aggregate and be separated, so as to achieve the purpose of purification or purification. If a small amount of gelatin is added to the juice, the clarified juice can be obtained.

The hydrophilic effect of thickener can improve the quality of meat and flour products. In noodle foods, the thickener can improve the water absorption of dough, and the thickener can accelerate the penetration rate of water into protein molecules and starch particles when the dough is prepared, which is conducive to the powder mixing process. Due to the gel properties of thickener, the viscoelasticity of flour products is enhanced, the degree of starch αization is increased, and it is not easy to age and dry out.

The use of thickener can give the food a higher viscosity, so that the supersaturated solution or system does not appear crystallization or crystallization to achieve fine effect. For example, control the sand return phenomenon of syrup products and inhibit the ice crystals in ice cream food.

Food thickener can form a very smooth protective film on the surface of food, protecting food from oxygen and microorganisms. It can prevent the quality decline caused by the surface moisture absorption of frozen food and solid powder food.

The thickener can be foamed to form a network structure. Cakes, bakers, ice cream and other use of algin, locust bean gum, sodium alginate, gelatin as foaming agents, thickening agents can improve the amount of foam and foam stability, such as beer foam and bottle wall "hair" is the reason for the use of thickening agents.

The purpose of using locust bean gum and algin gum in sausage is to make the product become an agglomeration, the tissue structure is stable and lubricated after homogenization, and the water retention strength of the glue is used to prevent the sausage from losing weight in storage. Gum Arabic can be used as a binder for tablet and granular products, in the granulation of powder food, the granulation of food spices and other applications.