In recent years, the development and utilization of inulin has received high attention from the international food industry and has been widely used in various foods such as dairy products, beverages, noodle products, meat products, etc.
01
Dairy products
As an excellent fat substitute, inulin forms a creamy structure when completely mixed with water, giving skim milk a smooth taste. The addition of inulin can promote the absorption of calcium in dairy products by the human body. In the production of yogurt, adding 6% inulin can reduce whey precipitation rate and help improve the quality of yogurt. Adding 6% inulin to goat milk yogurt results in a better taste of the product. Research has shown that adding inulin to low-fat yogurt is beneficial for the growth and fermentation of probiotics such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and increases the number of viable bacteria during yogurt storage. Adding 2% to 4% inulin can also increase the hardness of yogurt fermented with Streptococcus thermophilus and different lactobacilli or bifidobacteria. The appropriate fat replacement level for inulin in solidified yogurt is 40%, and the appropriate addition amounts for short chain and long chain inulin in skim milk beverages are 4%~10% and 4%~6%, respectively. Various functional dairy products can be made by utilizing the special nutritional function of inulin. For example, adding oligofructose to non fermented dairy products can solve problems such as fever and constipation in infants and middle-aged and elderly people, as well as reduce blood lipids and blood sugar; Adding low doses of inulin to skim milk can significantly improve the growth and lifespan of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus lactis in non fat fermented milk; Supplementing a certain amount of inulin rich in oligofructose in infant diet can promote the gut microbiota in the body to be closer to breastfeeding levels, and is safe and effective. 02
Noodle products
The appearance of inulin is similar to that of wheat flour, with a white powder shape and good hydrophilicity. After absorbing water, it can form a delicate and smooth texture. Utilizing these characteristics of inulin can improve the processing performance of dough, enhance product quality and nutritional value, and optimize the nutritional structure of the product. Research has shown that inulin can increase the formation time, stability time, flour quality index, stretching resistance, stretching ratio, and stretching energy of dough, and reduce the weakening degree of dough. This is consistent with the fact that inulin increases the emulsifying activity of wheat protein β- Folding content, reduction β- The corner content is related to cross-linking with gluten. The impact of inulin is closely related to its average polymerization degree and dosage. If an excessive amount of long-chain inulin (>5%) is added, it will have a significant negative effect on the quality of dough and its products. This may be attributed to the large molecular weight and strong hydrophobicity of long-chain inulin, which easily forms small particles with strong viscosity when encountering water during the dough blending process, leading to uneven dough blending and damage to the gluten network structure; For short chain and natural inulin, due to their low average degree of polymerization and a certain amount of oligosaccharides, they have good hydrophilicity, are easy to dissolve or disperse in water, and are easily dispersed evenly in dough. Therefore, at a certain amount (<10%), it can promote the fermentation process of the dough, increase the total gas production and gas holding capacity of the dough, give the product a small, uniform and dense gas chamber and a soft and elastic texture, which helps to improve the yield and quality of the product. The crispy biscuit with added inulin has a crispy texture, uniform texture, golden color, and lower in vitro digestibility than ordinary biscuits. Inulin can increase the porosity, volume, and specific volume of bread, shorten baking time, and delay bread aging.
03
Meat products
In meat products, inulin is often used as a substitute for its fats or starch substances to reduce energy, increase dietary fiber content, and enhance the nutritional function of the product. The partial substitution of inulin for oil in sausage will increase its hardness, adhesiveness and resilience to a certain extent, and reduce its elasticity, chewiness and cohesiveness, which is mainly related to the softer texture of fat than inulin gel. Adding 20% inulin to beef balls can reduce fat and trans fatty acid content, water content, salt content, cooking loss and redness variable value, and increase brightness value and ash content. Replacing the fat in Lyon style sausages with 0.2% -3.0% inulin resulted in a 32% -88% reduction in fat content, improved juicy texture, and decreased meat roughness and hardness. Inulin can also be used as a cryoprotectant for fish meat products. Research has shown that adding 1.5% inulin to silver carp mince results in the best product quality. The hydroxyl group in inulin can bind to proteins, inhibiting protein aggregation. The hydrogen bonds in the hydroxyl group can also bind to water molecules, reducing the mobility of water molecules and the content of freezeable water, and inhibiting the formation and growth of ice crystals. Therefore, inulin has a certain degree of antifreeze protection. Short chain inulin has the best antifreeze protection effect, followed by natural inulin. Long chain inulin has the worst antifreeze protection effect, which may be attributed to some low molecular weight sugars in short chain inulin being more prone to exposing free hydroxyl groups and forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds with water, while long chain inulin is more prone to intramolecular bonding due to its long chain. 04
Beverages
Inulin is easily soluble in water and is relatively stable to heat when the solution pH is greater than 4, making it widely used in various beverages. Adding inulin to products such as fruit juice drinks, functional drinks, sports drinks, solid drinks, and plant-based protein drinks not only replaces fat and sugar, improves product water binding ability, and increases viscosity, but also endows products with high dietary fiber content, improves the absorption rate of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron (>20%), and masks their bitter taste. The addition of inulin can increase the consistency of beverages, solve the problem of thin taste in plant-based protein beverages, enhance the creaminess and give people a soft feeling, make the beverage more flavorful and textured, and promote calcium absorption by up to 70%. Therefore, beverages containing inulin not only have beneficial effects, but also promote growth and development and prevent osteoporosis. Adding inulin to beverages can significantly promote intestinal peristalsis in the elderly and increase bowel movements by 13%.
05
other aspects
Adding inulin to bean products can improve their gel properties and texture characteristics. Inulin can increase the viscoelasticity and gel of tender tofu, which may be related to the water retention and gelling properties of inulin. Inulin can be used as a natural antioxidant in the oil and fat industry. Research has shown that inulin has a certain antioxidant effect on rapeseed oil and has a synergistic effect with VC, citric acid, etc. In chocolate, inulin can improve its texture and texture, increase its whiteness, and extend its shelf life. Sugar free chocolate made with inulin instead of sucrose has better viscosity, hardness, and color. Jelly with added inulin has a more uniform texture, better flavor, and is nutritious and healthy. Fresh cut fruits, if coated with inulin solution, have a lower degree of browning, and their shelf life, mechanical properties, and water retention performance are improved. 06
Summary
The application fields and scope of inulin with different degrees of polymerization. The degree of polymerization can affect the solubility, water retention, swelling, adsorption, crystallinity, gelation, texture characteristics, and food processing stability of inulin. Therefore, it is necessary to have a deeper understanding of the advantages and limitations of different degrees of polymerization of inulin in different food systems. For example, long-chain inulin is suitable for replacing fat, thickening, and improving texture, while short chain inulin is more suitable for use in beverages and frozen desserts. The interaction between inulin and other molecules in the food system, such as proteins, starch, fats, and water. Due to the complexity of food systems, the addition of inulin can alter the interactions between molecules in the original food system. For example, inulin can affect the migration of water with different properties, weaken or enhance the thermodynamic stability of starch, inhibit or promote the aging and crystallization of different types of starch, change the emulsifying performance, network structure, molecular secondary and advanced structure of proteins, and thus affect the processing and storage performance of food, changing its flavor characteristics and sensory quality.
Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd. a integrated enterprise which is focus on natural products, plant extract related products and services.We mainly focus on pharmaceutical, functional food, Freeze-dried powder,Natural Pigment,Homology of medicine and food,beverages and other business services.
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2024-04-10
Shaanxi Huike Botanical Development Co., Ltd.
