Cooking Process Can Reduce Fat in Dairy Sauces By Up to 20%
Scientific research from the University of Lincoln has shown that food manufacturers can reduce fat in dairy based sauce products by up to 20% by processing with the disruptive Steam infusion Vaction™ technology. Under certain operating conditions, when passing dairy ingredients through the Steam Infusion Vaction™ unit, a fat mimetic is formed which mimics the fat properties in sauces. On bechamel, cheese and hollandaise sauce a creamier mouth feel is achieved while maintaining the sauces viscosity compared to cooking with a traditional steam jacket.
Traditionally to offer consumers a luxury, indulgent mouthfeel a butter or cream is addition is required giving the final product a high dairy fat content. The findings provide interesting areas for new product development that can offer “healthy indulgence”.
The Steam Infusion Vaction™ technology is a disruptive device that sits within a cooking vessel and uses steam as the motive forces to uniquely heat and mix food products. The University of Lincoln has researched the patented Vaction™ cooking technology under an Innovate UK funded project to scientifically identify the product development and operational opportunities of the device.
Many food manufacturers have already switched to cooking dairy based sauces with the technology. Bakkavor has been using the Steam Infusion technology to cook a dairy based porridge, Janet Prescott, Manufacturing Manager explains: “We are very happy with the retrofit of OAL’s Steam Infusion technology to manufacture porridge. We have been able to quickly master how to maximise the benefits of the Steam Infusion system and we’re confident that the technology offers the flexibility to cook a wide variety of products to delight our customers.”
Janet Prescott adds: “The system is very fast and has reduced our cooking energy consumption by 15%. It’s a quality piece of equipment that’s definitely “cook proof”. Since the installation, our engineering team haven’t had to touch the system.”
The recently released whitepaper highlights other areas of differentiation to traditional manufacturing including the prevention of Maillard reactions and retention of “homemade” colours and flavours. The Vaction™ unit creates a partial vacuum within the unit preventing exposure to high temperatures and browning of a product. Gas Chromatography-Gas Spectrometry (GCMS) identified a difference in flavour profile, whilst layperson taste panels recognised an improvement in flavour between a conventionally cooked and Steam Infusion sauce. Both highlighted the preservation of delicate “fresh flavours and prevention of “over processed” notes. The explanation for “homemade” flavours comes from the shortened cooking times and prevention of burn on contamination.
