Application Studies / Chemical Leavening

Chemical Leavening

Industry:

Food

Baked

Ingredients

Attributes measured:

firmness

hardness

springiness

cohesiveness

Background

Rhodia Corporation’s Phosphates, Hydrocolloids and Food Ingredients Division (formerly Rhone-Poulenc’s Food Ingredients Division) has conducted extensive testing on the effect of chemical leavening agents on the texture of baked products. Selections of Rhodia’s research on yellow layer cakes is presented in this study to illustrate how the TA.XTPlus Texture Analyzer quantifies textural differences which result from different types of chemical leavening agents. Rhodia conducted Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) tests, which (i) compressed a cake sample either a fixed distance, (ii) withdrew to the original sample height as it was determined by the trigger force, (iii) allowed the sample to rest/recover during a fixed time period, and (iv) repeated the compression to precisely the original penetration distance. Based on the product’s behavior, hardness (or softness), springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess (valid only for semi-solid products), chewiness, fracturability and resilience can be quantified. This study focuses on hardness, springiness, and cohesiveness.