thickening or functional agent for food systems such as baked
goods, beverages, ice cream and yoghurt.
3.2.3. Oil binding capacities (OBC)
Significantly (p 0.05) higher oil binding capacities (OBC) were
observed in freeze-dried pumpkin flours when compared with hotair
oven dried pumpkin flours (Table 2). This result is compatible
with the study performed by Que et al. (2008). Metabisulfite pretreatment
also decreased OBC levels. Freeze-dried pumpkin flours
having high OBC values could be an alternative emulsifying ingredient
for food formulations, especially in bakery products.