RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF LOW-FAT DULCE DE LECHE WITH ADDED XANTHAN GUM

RANALLI, NATALIA; ANDRÉS, SILVINA C.; CALIFANO, ALICIA N.

Otro; Trabajo enviado a la revista "Journal of Food Processing and Preservation"; 2015

Dulce de leche, a typical jam of South America, is commercialized with diverse flow characteristics that corresponds to its different uses. In order to predict the adequate composition to obtain target rheological properties, low-fat dulce de leche samples with different water (23.7-60.3 %) and xanthan gum (0.173-0.555 %) contents were prepared using skim milk (0% fat), sucrose (172.7 g/L), and glucose (28.98 g/L) following the traditional method, and their flow behavior were measured. Steady-state flow curves were modeled and the obtained Herschel-Bulkley?s parameters were regressed as a function of water and xanthan gum contents; from this set of equations an adequate composition to produce low-fat dulce de leche with flow behavior similar to a premium commercial brand was predicted. The procedure was experimentally validated. A mathematical useful tool for the industry to calculate a suitable formulation to obtain a given type of low-fat dulce de leche is presented.