Modified Tapioca Starches Provide Smoother Textures

Prepared Foods , March, 2000 by FRAN LaBELL

Traditional modified tapioca starches yield a very clean flavor, but the texture they produce is too grainy for delicately Textured products such as yogurt, sour cream and sour cream dips.

Thanks to recent technical advances, however, modified tapioca starches can now provide these smooth, creamy textures. Avebe America Inc., Princeton, N.J., has introduced Farinex Modified Tapioca Starches that deliver the smoothness crucial for the success of creamy dairy-based products.

"We are involved from the tapioca roots to the starch modification," explains Dale Bertrand, application manager, Avebe America. To ensure high product quality, the company maintains a unique cooperative structure with a joint venture partner in Thailand.

"We start with fresh roots, and the starch is modified in Thailand and shipped here directly," says Bertrand. The efforts produce modified tapioca starches that can withstand the stress of heat and the shear of homogenization. They also retain a smooth, short texture at a competitive price.

"Modified waxy maize starches that traditionally have been the choice can mask delicate flavors and impart cereal notes because they have a higher protein and lipid content than tapioca," Bertrand explains. "Modified tapioca starch has a lower lipid and protein content and gives a cleaner flavor without cereal notes."

Because the base has a cleaner flavor, food manufacturers can use a lower concentration of flavors and still attain their goals. Modified tapioca starch can replace modified waxy maize starch on an approximately one-to-one basis. Usage levels for the modified tapioca starch in yogurt and sour cream products range from 1% to 5%.

In addition to being heat and shear stable, the modified tapioca starches are stable in acidic dairy products. Yogurt has an acidity of 3.5-4.5 pH, and sour cream has an acidity of 4.0-4.5 pH. If a starch has not been modified enough, acid can hydrolyze it, causing it to lose its water-binding capacity. A product can lose viscosity and syneresis can occur.

The starch must match the process in order to make a successful product, according to Bertrand. Formulators can use both Farinex T440 and Farinex T460, depending on the type of yogurt, sour cream or sour cream dip. Which to use depends upon processing time, pressure, temperature and the location and extent of homogenization. Whether the product is full-fat, low-fat or non-fat also has a significant effect. The white, free-flowing powder disperses readily with agitation.

Stability over shelf life is also a very important factor for these products. Yogurt, sour cream and sour cream dips may remain on the shelf for as long as two months before consumption.

In addition to yogurt and sour cream products, the starches are effective in other dairy-based products that are heat processed. They work well in cultured products, cheese sauces, salad dressings, cream soups, puddings, custard, flan and other dairy desserts that require clean flavor.