Indispensable helpers in the improvement of product quality

Indispensable helpers in the improvement of product quality

Constantly evolving consumer market of dairy products requires the creation of a wide range of various high quality products, better taste and texture, which is impossible without the use of a variety of ingredients, such as emulsifiers and stabilizers.

The company Elektrogazochem over 10 years is one of the leading domestic manufacturers of a wide range of nutritional supplements for the dairy and oil&fat industry.

The company produces over 20 types of emulsifiers, stabilizers and other auxiliary substances, which are cheaper than foreign analogues, and its quality characteristics correspond to the best world analogues. For their production the high-quality domestic and foreign raw materials are used.

All the products are manufactured according to the specifications approved in the prescribed manner. The products have been passed the hygienic examination at the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology. All regulatory documents and all the products are certified (The hygienic conclusions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine).

The company owns a modern research and production base, which allows to develop and produce high quality products in quantities sufficient to meet the demands of the food industry in Ukraine.

The company includes research department and certified quality control laboratory. Our research team that includes experienced engineers and scientists develops new types of emulsifiers and other auxiliary agents.

The company's strategy - an integrated approach designed to achieve a combination of attractive appearance of the finished product, the necessary texture that is peculiar to etalon criteria of a particular type of product.

Experience in development of the company Elektrogazochem is based on the integrated usage of the properties of the raw materials used for production, and functional features of produced emulsifiers and structure's stabilizers. This allows us not only to offer the improvement of the consistency of products produced by traditional technological schemes, but also to create new products with specified consumer properties according to the customer's request .

Recent years, a prior direction in the food industry is the development of resource-saving technologies. The technologies allow to save the traditional raw materials, increasing the yield of the final product, expanding its range, and adjusting the food and biological value, caloric value of foods.

In Ukraine the production of food staff with combined fat composition is successfully developed. This relates to dairy products, including cheese products. The products contain non-dairy ingredients, mainly vegetable fats and complete proteins. These products have a high biological value and nutritional properties due to a better balance of fatty acid composition by increasing the content of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The usage of vegetable fats allows to reduce caloric value and amount of cholesterol.

Directional regulation of formulation of spreads and low fat butters allowed expanding the range of combined products. New varieties of such products can be divided into two types. The type where emulsifiers and structure's stabilizers for manufacture are not used and the type of spreads and margarines where composition incorporated the structure-forming products. Both directions have obtained the development in Ukraine.

To improve the quality of butter with a reduced fat content (less than 72.5%), spreads (butter combined with a fatty phase) the use of emulsifiers and stabilizers of structure is recommended. To this end, the company Elektorgazochem manufactures the following range of emulsifiers:

Ester P in solid and liquid forms; Ester T (stearic acid triglyceride); Polyglycerol polyricinoleate and others.

The use of emulsifiers allows to replace milk fat with vegetable or milk fat substitutes in any proportion. Emulsifiers and stabilizers of fat systems are universal and combine with any kind of animal and vegetable oils. Optionally, it can be made either in solid or in liquid form. Addition of emulsifiers significantly improves consistency of spreads, low fat butters and margarines.

Consistency of spreads, low fat butters and margarine is one of the key indicators of their quality. It depends on the product structure, the amount of the solid phase, the shape and size of crystals, triglyceride composition of fat, air content, the degree of mechanical processing and storage modes.

In prolonged storage the stability of spreads and margarines are closely related to consistence, in particular the degree of dispersion of the product moisture. Highly dispersed distribution of plasma and air contributes to long-term preservation of high consumer characteristics by impeding the development of microflora.

A high degree of dispersion of moisture and air in such products can only be achieved by using emulsifiers and structure’s stabilizers.

Surface oxidation of spreads, low fat butters and margarines worsens the appearance, taste and smell of food. The defect manifests by forming the translucent layer on the product which has specific odor and unpleasant bitter and sometimes sickly and pungent taste, which are estimated as rotten or musty. Color of spreads in this layer is noticeably darker than the rest of the product. Forming of the defect is accompanied by a sharp increase of the plasma acidity and fat, as well as the peroxide values. The defect caused by polymerization of glycerides and dairy fat oxidation as a result of growth the proteolytic and psychrotrophic bacteria and dehydration.

Catalysts of the emergence of the defect are the high content of unsaturated fatty acids in margarines and spreads, low resistance of packaging materials to penetration of fat, moisture and air, sunlight and violation of temperature storage's modes of food staff.

For prevention of the emergence such defects as crumbly, cracking, layered, friable consistencies and defect of surface oxidation promotes the usage of emulsifiers manufactured by the company Elektrogazochem.

Emulsifier Ester P increases the plasticity, creates shiny, glossy texture of the product. Its usage prevents the appearance of the defects of crumbly, layered, friable consistency. It binds together fat and water by preventing the separation of free moisture that important while producing spreads, low fat butter and margarines. The emulsifier prevents manifesting of the oxidation.

In the presence of a few defects in the products, such as rough, crumbly, cracking, layered, texture, as well as to give the product a high degree of spreadability at rather low temperatures should to be used an emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR).

Soft (thermo unstable) spreads and margarines do not have sufficient strength. Such product at a temperature of 5-6 ° C has satisfactory consistency, at 10-12 ° C. it becomes softer and stretches by knife (or spatula, probe). At 18-20 ° C it is becoming excessively soft. The products are characterized by low thermal stability and ability to hold the liquid fat.

Availability of the defect indicates the predominance of coagulation structure formed as a result of the increased amount of fat in the low-melting glycerides. At relatively low temperatures the product has a significant resistance to shear exertion (good spreadability), but the lack of structure in the strong bonds of crystallization at higher temperatures leads to excessive softening of the product and the formation of a structureless mass. The defect of soft thermo-unstable butter or spread is usually found after stabilizing the structure.

To prevent generation of thermo unstable spreads, as well as to improve the thermal stability of the product during the summer it is recommended to use the stabilizer of structure - the triglyceride of stearic acid. The Triglyceride of stearic acid increases the strength of the crystal lattice of the product and contributes the retention of low-melting fat fractions. This allows in the summer to produce heat-resistant butter, which promotes preserving its trade dress.

In the manufacture of spreads and margarines the emulsifiers are introduced in the melted fat or high fat cream preheated to a temperature not lower than 60-65 ° C. After this the mixture emulsifies by an emulsifier or stirs for about 10-15 minutes with maintaining the same temperature.

For the production of recombined cream or butter emulsifiers insert consistently to the vat with a mixture of recovered high fat cream and vegetable oil at a temperature not below 65 ° C.

In the manufacture of spreads, low fat butter and margarines the emulsifiers should be introduced in the melted fat or high fat cream preheated to a temperature not lower than 60-65 ° C. After this the mixture emulsifies by an emulsifier or stirs for about 10-15 minutes with maintaining the same temperature.

For the production of recombined cream or butter emulsifiers should be inserted consistently to the vat with a mixture of recovered high fat cream and vegetable oil at a temperature not lower than 65 ° C.

The mixture emulsifies for 15-20 minutes and then the process is carried out in accordance with the instruction for the production of spreads of recombined cream.

Usage of the emulsifiers Ester P, triglycerides in the production of different kinds of cheese can regulate the consistency of the cheese's dough. The usage of emulsifiers gives the cheese a soft, elastic consistency.

A positive effect achieved by using emulsifiers in the production of condensed milk products, especially in caramelization of the product.

Based on produced emulsifiers for various kinds of ice cream was designed the stabilizing system ESTER A, which allows to produce various kinds of high quality ice cream.

Also we suggest to use emulsifiers as improvers in the production of wafers for ice cream. The exclusive formulation, allowed to eliminate or significantly reduce the consumption of egg products as well as to reduce the cost of wafers has been designed for the production of wafers by using emulsifiers.

Gureeva V.S.

Head of the department of Technology and Standardization

Scientific-Production Enterprise the company Elektrogazochem ltd.