The ability of the dry ingredient curdlan (0% to 1% w/w) to lower oil uptake and moisture loss in doughnuts during deep-fat frying was compared with that of cellulose derivatives. An index expressing the ratio between oil uptake and moisture loss was developed. The addition of curdlan showed a linear effect on reducing each parameter (p < 0.001) within a range of 0% to 0.5%. This effect of curdlan probably is attributed to its thermal gelling property, and the heat-induced gel during frying probably functioned as an oil and moisture barrier. Cellulose derivatives were less effective than curdlan in this respect.
Gel formation of curdlan at lOO-130°C and behaviors of curdlan gels under frozen state were investigated by measuring gel strength and syneresis. Even when aqueous suspensions of curdlan were heated to 100°C or higher, they formed a gel, and gel strength increased with temperature. Curdlan gel was also stable against freezing and thawing. The syneresis of a 4% curdlan gel after freezing and thawing was reduced from 20.6% to about 2.1% by addition of 5% waxy corn starch and to 8.9% by addition of 20% sucrose. Suggested by these findings, new applications to foods have been developed, especially those subject to retorting and/or freezing.
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