Ghee Oil: Fat Content

Ghee has been produced by clarification of milk fat from milk, cream or butter at high temperature with or without fermentation. It is almost anhydrous milk fat.

Ghee is popular in India has got typical pleasing and appetizing aroma. It contributes color and flavor richness to foods and at the same time promotes good health. Clarified ghee contains not less than 99.5 % fat and fat is the most valued milk component. Ghee is one of the most widely used milk products in numerous foods for various purposes and considered as the supreme cooking and frying medium.

Ghee is believed to be coolant, capable of increasing mental power and in pure form is used to feed children because of its therapeutic value, and is mixed with honey and used as an aphrodisiac. The oil is considered to be fairly stable due to the low water content as well as high antioxidative properties. It is also rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which shows anticarcinogenic effects.

Ghee oil is a complex lipid of glycerides (usually mixed), free fatty acids, phospholipids, sterols, sterol esters, fat soluble vitamins, carbonyls, hydrocarbons, carotenoids, small amounts of charred casein and traces of calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc. It also contains not more than 0.3% moisture.

Glycerides contribute about 98% of the total material while the remaining constituents are sterols (mostly cholesterol) occur to the extent of about 0.5%.
Ghee Oil: Fat Content

Arachidic acid

Fatty acids are a large group composed of linear saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbonated chains with a carboxylic acid function. Commonly found saturated fatty acids range from butyric (C4) to arachidic fatty acids (C20).

Arachidic acid is a saturated fatty acid with a 20 carbon chain. Arachidic acid occurs naturally in fish and vegetable oils. It is used in lubricants, greases, waxes and plastics. Diets rich in saturated fats like arachidic acid are associated with increased levels of serum low density lipoproteins.

Earthnut oil, expressed in the cold, contains about 4-5 p.c. of arachidic acid ; that expressed with the aid of heat contains about 6 p.c. It is sometimes used to adulterate olive-oil, and its presence may be detected by separating out the arachidic acid.
Arachidic acid

What is prime pressed cocoa butter?

Prime pressed cocoa bitter is designed as the fat obtained from good quality cocoa nib commercially free form shell by means of mechanical (hydraulic) pressing. No subsequent refining other than filtration is employed.

Cocoa butter, which forms about 45%b of the bean is extracted by removing the beans from their pods and allowing them to ferment before they are dried, roasted, shelled and ground to the paste known as ‘cocoa liquor’ or ‘cocoa mass’.

The cocoa liquor is then by hydraulic, screw expelling or solvent extraction to produce cocoa butter. There is usually some oil remaining on the cocoa powder - it is impossible to take out all the fat simply by pressing.

Pressing liquor made from highest quality nibs gives the best quality cocoa butter which is designated ‘pure prime pressed’, but butter produced by expeller pressing of good quality nibs is almost equivalent. Solvent extraction is used only from extraction of cake residues from the expeller process or of other, waste, residues.

Prime pressed cocoa butter is usually used directly in chocolate without any further processing. This makes it unusual among fats in the most fats are refined before use to remove unwanted minor components such as free fatty acids, pigments, oxidation products and off-flavors.
What is prime pressed cocoa butter?

The use of shortening

The term shortening originates from the addition of fat to pastry dough to make it tender and flaky or to ‘shorten’ it.

Shortenings used as ingredients in icing as well as baked products are called all-purpose shortenings. The creaming properties of the shortening give the ‘creamed’ icings volume, fluffiness, smooth texture and the creaminess from which they get their name.

During the mixing process, the shortening aids in the development of the structure of the batter or dough by helping to produce tiny air cells or bubbles of microscopes. It will contribute to the leavening action of baking powder and expanding steam.

The melted shortening then deposits around the cell walls of the coagulating structure to contribute a tenderizing effect and lubricate the texture.

A shortening also used as the fat base in a biscuit filling cream will melt sharply and be fully molten at body temperature, just as with butter cream margarine.
The use of shortening

The uses of high fructose corn syrup

High fructose corn syrup had been invented and had been manufactured for use in processed foods starting in the mid 1970s. It is a thick liquid sweetener made from corn syrup.

In many cases, HFCS has replaced sucrose, or table sugar, for sweetening –HFCS is easier to handle than sucrose since it is a liquid and it is also cheaper to use.

Major users of HFCS- 42 (i.e. 42 percent fructose) include some segments of the beverage industry, instant breakfast drink, cereal and bakery producers, multiple-use food manufacturers, the dairy industry, chocolate syrup, cocoa and dessert toppings and the confectionery industry.

Sugar is used in cream in combination with HFCS for sweetening and to control freezing point. In commercial baking industry HFCS is to sweeten biscuits and cakes.

Very little is used in the confectionary industry because of its resistance to crystallization, a primary sweetener requirements, However, its tendency to develop color is useful in the manufacture of fudge, caramel and toffee.

The advantages of using HFCS including:
*extra-sweetness
*Solubility
*Inexpensive
*Transportability
*Contribution to food consistency
*Stability at various temperatures
*Longer shellfire
*Humectants properties

Food manufacturers love HFCS because it tastes much sweeter than sugar, this means they can use less of it and save on their manufacturing costs.
The uses of high fructose corn syrup

Cereal of rye

Cereal rye grows rapidly in cool weather and forms a dense, tall stand with a more extensive root system than other cereals. Among the cereal, it is the most cold tolerant and is one of the best species to use if planting is delayed until late fall or winter.

Rye is a cereal grass that is second only to wheat in world popularity for bread baking. It has strong hearty flavor in bread and as a cereal.  Crisp bread also made from rye flour, often whole meal rye, possibly with some wheat flour added, with or without yeast leavening.

Pumpernickel is also produced from 100% rye meal, using the sour-dough process. It is distinctive due to the very long baking time involved - between 18 and 36 hours.

Rye flours are used occasionally in snack type crackers. A very light rye has been recommended for use in soda crackers and some cookies as partial replacement for wheat flour.

Rye flours are also used in some pancake and waffle mixes to produce a special flavor. In the United States, one of the main uses for rye is rye whisky.

Rye flours are used as fillers for sauces and soups. Rye is also flaked to make a hot breakfast cereal.

Rye contains B-complex vitamin, protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
Cereal of rye

Saturated fatty acids: Lauric acid

Lauric acid has 12 carbons and no double bonds. Lauric acid is absorbed partly with chylomicron triglycerides and partly into the portal circulation as a free fatty acid.

Of the saturated fatty acids, lauric acid has greater antiviral, activity than other caprylic acid, capric acid or mysristic acid. According to published research, lauric acid is one of the best ‘inactivating’ fatty acid, and its monoglyceride is an even more effective antimicrobial than fatty acid alone.

Lauric acid is common constituent of vegetable fats, especially coconut oil and laurel oil.

There are only a few basic foods that contain lauric acid in more than trace amounts. These foods include the following: extracted lauric oils (coconut, palm kernel), whole coconut, creamed coconut (bar), coconut cream (fresh or canned), coconut milk (fresh or canned), heavy cream, table cream, half and half, whole milk.

Lauric acid derivatives are used widely as a key raw material on the manufacture of soaps, detergents and lauryl alcohol because of their foaming properties.

It also has uses in chocolate and confectionary coatings, margarines, simulated dairy products, baker filling and icings, dressings and spreads.
Saturated fatty acids: Lauric acid

The use of psyllium

Psyllium is a harvested grain. It comes from plants of the Plantago genus. Psyllium derives its name from the Greek psylla meaning ‘a flea’.

The psyllium husks are a lubricating, mucilaginous, fibrous herb with drawing, cleansing, and laxatives properties. The psyllium husks act as a ‘colon broom’ for those suffering with chronic constipation.

Some recommend the use of bulk laxative psyllium mainly for people over 50 who are sedentary and need something to stimulate the normal peristaltic action of the bowel.

Psyllium has a unique action in the bowels as it can act as a demulcent or emollient, it can be used to either stop diarrhea or to do away with constipation.

Psyllium has received attention over the years as a soluble fiber that can reduce cholesterol levels. A number of animal studies have demonstrated that rats fed controlled diets supplemented with psyllium fiber experience a significant decrease in serum cholesterol levels.

Psyllium has been as an ice-cream stabilizer. It also has been used in beverages, cereals and candy. 

Traditionally it use involve spreading psyllium on bread, mixing it with honey, marmalade or stewed fruits, using it in soup, or mixing it with wheat flour as a thickener.

Psyllium also traditionally been used as an ingredient in the making of chocolates and in jellies.
The use of psyllium

Pectin and its usage

Pectin plays an important role during ripening, storage and processing of plant raw materials for foods. It is natural hydrocolloids found in higher plants, widely used as gelling agents, stabilizers and emulsifiers in the food industry.

It is also extracted from suitable plant sources and as such widely used in food industry because of its gelling, stabilizing, and thickening properties.

Pectin substances are complex mixtures of polysaccharides that make up about one third of the cell-wall dry substance of dicotyledonous and some monocotyledonous plants.

Much of this material can be described as a main chain of alpha-D-galactopyranosyluronic acid units interrupted by L-rhamnopyranosyl units (1, 2).

Many of the rhamnosyl units have arabianan, galactan or arabinogalactan chains attached to them. 

Nowadays, pectin has gained interest as a functional food, because of possible health promoting effects. 

Pectin is used in jams and jellies, and in fruit drink concentrates, where it stabilizes emulsified oils and suspended fruit particles.

In addition to its used in jams and jellies, pectin is used in several other foods as an emulsifier, thickener and texturizer. Furthermore, pectin is used in the food industry as a gelling and stabilizing agent in order to improve food rheological behavior.

Frozen food benefit from pectin’s ability to improve texture by controlling ice crystal size, preventing loss of syrup during thawing, and improving overall shape.

Fruit pieces in yoghurt are evenly distributed with the aid of pectin, and pectin imparts more body to diet soft drinks.

The juice of grapes, currants, lemons, sour oranges and grapefruits contains sufficient pectin and acid for jelly manufacture.
Pectin and its usage

The use of additives in food processing

Food additives play a vital role in today’s bountiful and nutritious food supply. They allow our growing urban population to enjoy a variety of safe, wholesome, tasty foods year round.

Food additives can be used to:
*Improve the taste or appearance of processed food.

*To improve or maintain nutritional value.

*Improve the keeping quality or stability of a food. It is done by adding vitamins and minerals to common foods such as milk, flour, cereal and margarine.

*Enhance flavor or impart desired color.

*Preserve food when this is the most practical way of extending its storage life. It will keep the food appetizing and wholesome. Food addictives retard product spoilage caused by mold, air, bacteria, fungi or yeast.

*To maintain product consistency. Emulsifiers give products such as peanut butter a consistent texture and prevent them from separating. Stabilizers and thickeners give ice cream a smooth, uniform texture.

Use of food additive whether an intentional or incidental one should not be permitted until its safety under conation of the proposed use has been established beyond reasonable doubt as judged by competent experts.
The use of additives in food processing

Usage of Cocoa Powder

Consumption has increased more than tenfold since the turn of the twentieth century, commercial cacao cultivation having spread around the world in a belt within twenty degrees of the equator and the varieties of chocolate flavored confections having proliferated worldly.

The cocoa powder is made into a drink and can be added to milk, cakes and ice cream. The beans contain the stimulant alkaloid, theobromine (about 2.5 percent) and about 0.8 percent caffeine, but these quantities are reduced after processing.

Confections such as nougats, pastes and pralines often use coca as a flavoring material.

Cocoa differs from the other common beverages (coffee and tea) in that it has a marked nutritional composition, for example cocoa powder contains about 25 percent fat (saturated), 16 percent protein and 12 percent carbohydrate (about half are sugars).

Natural cocoa powder also known as non-alkalized cocoa powder is the classics American cocoa used of making chocolate cakes and brownies.
Usage of Cocoa Powder