Pectin is a complex natural carbohydrate found in the plant
cell wall. Due to strong gelling and thickening properties,
pectin has been used extensively in a variety of foods in
order to control the texture and rheology. In addition, pectin
has recently received great attention as a soluble fiber. Thus,
beneficial health effects have been reported, such as antiinflammatory,
anti-cancer, and hypocholesterolemic activities
(1,2). Nonetheless, the practical use of pectin, other than as
a gelling and thickening agent, has been limited in the food
industry due to a rheological impact on food quality. Thus,
there is a challenge to extend the use of pectin beyond
traditional applications.
Trials using pectin as a fat replacer have been conducted
in order to produce food products with reduced fat and caloric
contents. A pectin gel was formulated using carrageenan to
produce low-fat sausage (3). Also, low-fat Manchego cheeses
were prepared using a commercial fat replacer made using
low methoxyl pectin and sucrose (4). More recently, pectinenriched
materials from apples were evaluated as a fat
replacer in cookies (5). However, there is still a lack of detailed
information on the functional performance of pectin in a
food system. Furthermore, it would be worthwhile to
further investigate the potential functionality of pectin as a
fat replacer in a wide variety of foods.
Cake batter is an oil-in-water type of emulsion where air
bubbles are entrapped in the fat phase. During baking, aerated
cake batter is converted into a porous and soft cake structure
that becomes thermally set during starch gelatinization.
The typical cake formulation consists of wheat flour, sugar,
shortening, and egg. Thus, cakes generally are baked goods
with high sugar and fat contents, like cookies. However,
following the recent health trend in society, a great deal of
effort has been made to reduce the fat and caloric contents
in cakes by replacement of shortening. Hydrocolloids, such
as guar and xanthan gums, were used as a fat replacer in
cakes and compared with commercial fat replacers (6).
Cakes with low fat contents were also produced using
ingredients derived from various cereal sources, such as oat
(7), rice (8), and corn (9). Buckwheat flour, which is
classified as a pseudocereal, was subjected to steam jetcooking
and the resultant product was tested as a fat replacer
in cakes (10). In addition, Kocer et al. (11) produced a cake
with a 22% reduction of caloric value using polydextrose.
However, the baking performance of pectin as a fat replacer
in cakes has not been tested. In this study, pectin obtained
from yuja pomace was incorporated into a cake formulation
and the baking performance as a fat replacer was evaluated
based on the physical and textural properties of cakes.