Application of different carbohydrates to produce squash puree based edible sheet.

The production possibility of squash puree-containing edible sheet and its improvement by different hydrocolloids were studied. In this study, two hydrocolloids [carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and tragacanth gum] and also one plasticizer (glycerol) were used to produce squash puree-based edible sheets and optimization was performed to produce an edible sheet sample with the optimum properties. The results revealed that the CMC increased the tensile strength, elongation, and water vapor transition (WVT) of the edible sheets, whilst decreased their moisture content. The tragacanth increased the edible sheets elongation, oxygen transition (OT) and opacity. The glycerol also increased the elongation, density, OT, WVT, opacity and water solubility of the edible sheets; whereas the water activity, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and swelling capacity were decreased. The optimum quality of edible sheets was obtained from a combination of 0.14 g of CMC, 0.25 g of tragacanth and 1.88 g of glycerol.

The effect of different emulsifiers on the eggless cake properties containing WPC.

The possibility of complete replacement of egg proteins with whey protein concentrate (WPC) and improvement in quality by different emulsifiers was evaluated. Three emulsifiers, including polyglycerol ester (PGE), distilled mono glyceride (DMG) and lecithin were used to bake eggless cakes, containing 8% (w/w) WPC. The response surface analysis was applied to study the effect of emulsifiers on the eggless cake properties. The emulsifiers, individually and interactively, improved the properties of the eggless cakes significantly. The PGE and DMG decreased the batter density, however lecithin increased it. All emulsifiers increased the porosity and volume of the eggless cakes, but decreased the hardness and gumminess of crumb and improved the sensory acceptance. The indices used for optimization of formulation were water activity, moisture content, hardness, gumminess, volume, porosity and total acceptance. The optimum quality of the eggless cake can be achieved from a combination of 0.5 PGE, 0.25 DMG and 0.5% lecithin. The experimental and predicted responses of the optimized eggless cake had a good resemblance.