Application of Modified Cassava Starch as a Fat Substitute in Cracker Production

Abstract

Crackers are a popular food with an appreciable share of the consumer market. Fat is essential for the sensory properties of this product; however, a high fat content is associated with health disorders. For this reason, developing low-fat products with the same desirable attributes as the corresponding full-fat ones is a high priority for the food industry. The objective of the study was to evaluate the inclusion of modified cassava starch as a fat substitute in crackers by measuring their physical and sensory properties and behavior during storage. Fat reduction in crackers led to higher fracturability values for all treatment but the pregelatinized (PREGEL) one ( $11.73\pm 0.39$  N). The expansion ratio decreased with fat reduction, and the treatments with the highest expansion ratio and specific volume were the control (CTRL) ( $10.51\pm 0.21$ and $1.97\pm 0.09$  mL/g), the one with amyloglucosidase (AMG) ( $10.24\pm 0.10$ and $2.20\pm 0.023$  mL/g), and the pregelatinized (PREGEL) one ( $10.40\pm 0.16$ and $1.99\pm 0.15$  mL/g). The samples with modified starch showed an average total fat reduction of 49.51% compared with the control treatment. The results of sensory analysis by the acceptability test showed a greater inclination towards the CTRL and AMG treatments, in both color ( $6.73\pm 1.81$ and $6.45\pm 2.08$ , respectively) and texture ( $6.95\pm 1.72$ and $6.67\pm 1.69$ , respectively) parameters. During storage, the fracture strength decreased from $13.66\pm 0.32$  N to $11.39\pm 0.57$  N for AMG and from $12.5\pm 0.42$  N to $10.77\pm 0.61$  N for CTRL treatment, while the moisture content increased for both AMG (from $4.09\pm 0.85\%$ to $4.72\pm 0.13\%$ ) and CTRL (from $3.87\pm 0.14\%$ to $4.31\pm 0.43\%$ ) treatments between 0 and 30 days of storage. According to these results, it can be concluded that physically and enzymatically modified cassava starches can work as fat replacers in crackers.