Title: The Use of Pumpkin Puree as a Fat Replacement in Chocolate Cupcakes Abstract: An emerging challenge in the food industry is to utilize fat replacers in products while still obtaining the most desirable qualities that people associate with full-fat foods. The problem with most fat replacer is that they fail to reach the desirable flavor, leavening, moisture, and tenderness. The methods used to replace oil for pumpkin puree was simply a 1:1 replacement of the required oil amount for pumpkin puree. It was found that using the pumpkin puree as an alternative to fat was not statistically different in the following categories: Softness, Moisture, and Overall Preference. Using a pumpkin puree as a fat replacer is a good method to reduce the fat content and total calories in chocolate cupcakes without significant changes in objective and sensory variables. Introduction: An emerging challenge in the food industry is how to create products that are lower or void of fat yet still have the same desirable qualities that people associate with in their favorite full-fat foods. Replacing oil with a fat replacer can also improve nutrition by decreasing total fat and calories (American Dietetic Association, 2005). This becomes difficult especially with baked goods because fat is very important in providing flavor, richness, aeration, tenderness, flakiness, smooth mouth feel, leavening, and moisture retention (Lucca and others 1994). Using fat replacers is very popular and can be classified as carbohydrate or protein-based and is manufactured to mimic the fats commonly found in a wide variety of foods. However, other foods, such as pumpkin puree in our experiment, can be used to replace fat in a product that is more easily accessible than what the food industry uses. Pureed pumpkin contains pectin which
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Title: The Use of Pumpkin Puree as a Fat Replacement in Chocolate Cupcakes
Abstract:
An emerging challenge in the food industry is to utilize fat replacers in products while still
obtaining the most desirable qualities that people associate with full-fat foods. The problem with
most fat replacer is that they fail to reach the desirable flavor, leavening, moisture, and
tenderness. The methods used to replace oil for pumpkin puree was simply a 1:1 replacement of
the required oil amount for pumpkin puree. It was found that using the pumpkin puree as an
alternative to fat was not statistically different in the following categories: Softness, Moisture,
and Overall Preference. Using a pumpkin puree as a fat replacer is a good method to reduce the
fat content and total calories in chocolate cupcakes without significant changes in objective and
sensory variables.
Introduction:
An emerging challenge in the food industry is how to create products that are lower or void of fat
yet still have the same desirable qualities that people associate with in their favorite full-fat
foods. Replacing oil with a fat replacer can also improve nutrition by decreasing total fat and
calories (American Dietetic Association, 2005). This becomes difficult especially with baked
goods because fat is very important in providing flavor, richness, aeration, tenderness, flakiness,
smooth mouth feel, leavening, and moisture retention (Lucca and others 1994). Using fat
replacers is very popular and can be classified as carbohydrate or protein-based and is
manufactured to mimic the fats commonly found in a wide variety of foods. However, other
foods, such as pumpkin puree in our experiment, can be used to replace fat in a product that is
more easily accessible than what the food industry uses. Pureed pumpkin contains pectin which
is a polysaccharide, and makes pureed pumpkin a good carbohydrate-based fat replacer.
Polysaccharides interact well with water by controlling the structure and mobility of water. Due
to the fact that pectin is not hydrophobic like oil, it inhibits gluten formation by competing with
flour to bind water which will increase viscosity, lubricity, and gel formation (Min and others
2010). The resulting product using a carbohydrate-based fat replacer will mimic the lubricity and
viscosity of fat containing baked goods (Sanchez and others 1995). The purpose of this
experiment was to observe the effects of replacing oil with pumpkin puree in chocolate cupcakes
in order to decrease total calories and fat without negatively compromising palatability. The
independent variables included a control cupcake with full oil, a ½ pumpkin puree and ½ oil
cupcake, and a cupcake with full replacement of oil with pureed pumpkin. The dependent
variables include objective data from the viscometer, height and diameter measurements, and
texture analyzer and subjective data from rankings and structured ratings.
A variety of methods are available to test for viscosity, leavening, texture, and consumer
acceptability. The viscosity was measured using a Brookfield viscometer because it is an indirect
measure of liquid texture (Weaver and Daniel 2003). It was necessary to measure the liquid
texture because the viscosity of the batter can affect the texture and leavening of the final
product. Stefan Palzer from the Nestle Research Center Lausanne identified that replacing the
fat in a product with a fat replacer will often increase the viscosity of the product (Palzer 2009).
This will be expected in our cupcakes because pumpkin puree is thicker than oil. In order to
measure leavening, the diameter and height of each cupcake were measured in millimeters once
they were cooled to room temperature. This method was implemented because it results in an
assessment of leavening in the final product. Greater leavening is associated with density and
texture of baked goods. Texture was assessed objectively using the Texture Analyzer. This
measure was important to our data collected because it directly measures texture by puncturing
the cupcake and measuring the force needed to penetrate the surface of the cupcake (Weaver and
Daniel 2003). According to Alphons G.J. Voragen from the Department of Food Technology,
using a carbohydrate-based fat replacer may improve the texture of the final product (Voragen
1998). Consumer acceptability was measured using a structured rating and ranking evaluation.
In order to determine overall acceptability by the consumer, a ranking evaluation of the three
variables was used. Structured rating evaluated sensory qualities of softness, moistness, and
overall acceptance. These qualities were important to measure because they were related to our
objective measures of viscosity, leavening, and texture.
Methods:
Overall Design and Procedures
A box mix was used to standardize the recipes and canned pumpkin puree was used to replace
vegetable oil. Betty Crocker super moist chocolate cake mix and Payless store canned brand
pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, and tap water was used. The recipe for cupcakes was taken
from the back of the box of cake mix. Each recipe was divided in half to conserve ingredients.
Five boxes total were used to make a total of nine different cupcakes (3 variables, triplicated).
Directions for making the cupcakes were followed from the box mix. Cake mix, pumpkin puree,
and egg were measured by weight. Water and oil were measured by dividing each ingredient in
half by using a liquid measuring cup. The ingredients were then placed in a large bowl and
mixed using a rubber spatula for 2 minutes. Paper cupcake liners were used and each pan cavity
was filled to 2/3 capacity. The cupcakes were baked for 25 minutes in a conventional oven at
350o F (177o C). The cupcakes were served at room temperature and without a carrier such as
icing. Objective measures utilized include the Brookfield Viscometer, Texture Analyzer, and the
diameter and height. Subjective data was collected by a panel 13 semi-trained Purdue University
Nutrition Science students completing a ranking and structured rating evaluation (See
Appendix). Panelists completed the evaluation in the middle of the afternoon (4:30 pm) and did
not rinse their mouths between samples.
Table 1: Ingredient amounts for each variable
Ingredients
Control (full
oil)
Variable 1 (half
oil, half
pumpkin)
Variable 2 (full
pumpkin)
Betty Crocker Box
Mix
217 g 217 g 217 g
Eggs 1.5 1.5 1.5
Water 115 g 115 g 115g
Vegetable Oil 36.5 g 18 g 0 g
Canned Pumpkin
Puree
0 g 20.5 g 41 g
Table 2: Settings for objective measures
Instruments Settings
Brookfield Viscometer Probe 5, 12 rpm
Texture Analyzer Cone probe, auto setting
Diameter cm
Height cm
Replications, Randomization, and Sampling
All 3 trials were completed on the same day to ensure consistent lab conditions. Test subjects
volunteered for the subjective evaluation. In order to prevent sampling bias a random, 3-digit
number was assigned to each of the 3 variables and the control was not served first. 506 was
assigned to the control, 422 was assigned to the ½ pumpkin, ½ oil variable, and 302 was
assigned to the full pumpkin variable.
Discussion:
In quantifying our qualitative data we assigned a ranking number to each of the choices on the
sensory evaluation. They were assigned numerically starting from most soft with a value of one
to extremely tough with the value of 7. Moisture was evaluated by assigning the value of 1 to
extremely moist, and the value of 7 to extremely dry. Preference was evaluated by assigning the
value of 1 to like extremely and the value of 7 to dislike extremely. Overall ranking was also
analyzed in this way by assigning the value of 1 for most preferred and the value of 3 for least
preferred. The number of responses was multiplied by the assigned values for the qualitative
choices given. These results were then added and divided by 14 which was number of subjects
who completed the evaluation. Therefore the smallest average number was the most desirable.