Corn oil: uses and health benefits

The recent trend in maize processing is the emergence and popularity of corn oil. Corn oil is derived from germ, which use to be a throw away product obtained after the extraction of starch.

Corn oil is isolated from corn germ by expelling and solvent extraction. The germ seeds are isolate during wet milling – a process designed to isolate starch from corn kernels.

Corn oil belongs to the group of oils with high levels of linoleic and oleic fatty acids. The liquid oils in this group are the most adaptable of all the fats and oils. They have desirable oxidative stability properties and may be hydrogenated to a varying degrees of saturation from a milky liquid to melting points in excess of 59 °C.

Corn oil today is used as a cooking medium and for manufacturing hydrogenated oil. Almost all corn oil is made into specialty margarines and salad or cooking oils. Cooking oil is not winterized, salad oil is. The reason for the popularity of corn oil for these purposes is that the oil has a reputation for being more healthful, as a result of its content of some unsaturated fatty acids.

It is revealed that consumption of corn oil reduces occurrence of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases in humans and is claimed to be even healthier than extra virgin olive oil.
Corn oil: uses and health benefits

Chocolate liquor: processing and component

Chocolate liquor is the solid or semiplastic food composed of cocoa butter and coca solids, and may be used as the base for chocolate production or separated into these discrete components.

Cocoa beans are first fermented, then dried roasted freed from chaff, blended, and ground to release the chocolate liquor. In Europe, chocolate liquor is often called chocolate mass. This rich liquid is then pressed to produce either cocoa powder or cocoa butter.

Alternatively, the chocolate liquor can be hardened into unsweetened chocolate (100% chocolate liquor), or dark, semi sweet, and bittersweet chocolate, in which some sugar has been ground in with the nibs. To be considered a dark chocolate the chocolate must contain at least 35% chocolate liquor, although many premium chocolates have an even higher percentage.

Bittersweet chocolate has a high chocolate content and a very dark color. Its chocolate liquor content is higher than 35%: a content of 55 % chocolate liquor is fair common.

Chocolate liquor can also be processed to produce chocolate by mixing it with cocoa butter sugar and/or milk. In this case, chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, milk products, emulsifiers and flavors are the basic ingredients are blended together. The result is a paste with a rough texture and plastic consistency. It is often passed through a kneader or plasticizer to improve uniformity prior to entering the conches.
Chocolate liquor: processing and component

Sicilian Lemon Oil Processing and Usage

Sicilian Lemon Oil Processing and Usage
The methods used for oil extraction of Sicilian lemon oil are:

Hand pressing

• Sponge
• Ecuelle

Machine processing
Two methods are use:

• Sfumatrici – The fruit is halved and the juice first expressed by reaming. The peels are then individually pressed to release the oil.
• Pellatrice. The whole fruit in a fine stream of water, the oil and cellular detritus being separated and the water recycled. The oil is obtained by centrifuged the liquor and pressing the solid matter.

Sfumatrici treat only the peel from which the pulp has been remove, while the pellatrici (rotary rasping machines) treat the whole fruit.

Some of these machines, especially the sfumatrici, produce oil almost as good as “sponge” oil, but the latter is still considered superior in appearance, flavor, preservative qualities and citral content.

The oxygenated constituents of lemon oil, to which the oil owes most of its odor and flavor, are the more soluble in water and for the highest quality oil it is desirable to separate it from any aqueous phase as rapidly as possible.

Although widely used, centrifuging is not an entirely satisfactory method of achieving separation owing to the formation of persistent emulsions.

Lemon tree tend to produce fruit continuously but the age of the tree and growing conditions result in a more-or-less seasonal cropping.

Sicilian oil has the best odor characteristics. Oil produced in Sicily is reportedly higher in citral content than oil produced in California.

Lemon oil is used to flavor medicines and is an important flavor in bakery products, carbonated soft drink, soft-drink powders, gelatin deserts, extracts, candies and ices.

The oil is also used in perfumery, eaux de Cologne, lotions, and soaps.

Because lemon oil alone is not very stable, its terpenes and sesquiterpenes are usually removed, leaving a stable oil that is more soluble in aqueous alcohol.

Demand for lemon oil is only increasing slowly. The main markets are Western Europe (40%) , the United States (35%) and Japan (8%)
Sicilian Lemon Oil Processing and Usage

Dehydrated Onion

Dehydrated Onion
The domestic onion is one of the world’s oldest crops. The many advances in the formulation and manufacture of dehydrated meals have created a demand for onion in a powder form and considerable tonnages are now dehydrated annually to satisfy this need.

There is some loss in the fresh odor and flavor character during the processing but, in spite of this, the dehydrated form has the advantage that it saves valuable preparation time on the factory floor, there is little or no waste or spoilage and, within acceptable limits, it gives a consistent flavor to the end product.

The nature of this flavor is different from that of fresh onions so that a direct equivalence cannot be established. However, allowance is made for this during product formulation and an acceptable usage level established by trial and error. For guidance, initial usage levels assume an 8:1 fortification of the flavor in the dehydrated form and the missing top-notes may be added in the form of a liquid flavor made from onion oil.

Onions grown for dehydration are not generally the same as those used domestically. The prime consideration is, of course, that of high dry solids content with a good level of flavor and pungency.

Although care is taken during all stages of manufacture, onion powder is still hygienically suspect, and unless special handling techniques are adopted the product may show very high total bacterial and spore counts. However, these counts are of far less significance to the food processor than is presence of pathogens and Salmonella which clearly indicates faulty processing. Most specification for onion powder define limit for total count but this is relatively meaningless. Of far greater significance is a limit of Coliform organisms and a requirement that pathogens and Salmonella be completely absent.
Dehydrated Onion

Carrageenan in Gummy Candies

Carrageenan in Gummy Candies Gummy candies are included in a large category of confectionary products such as jellies, pastilles, and wine gums. Originally popularize in Europe, these candies were introduced to United Sates in the early 1980s. Current U.S manufacture now includes a myriad of products with various shapes, sizes, flavors, and food applications.

Traditionally the texture of gummy candies is obtained by using various water binding gelling agents, such as gelatin, starch, pectin and gum arabic. After a boiled mixture of sugars has been prepared, it is mixed with the gelling agent concentrated and then processed into various shapes by depositing into starch molds. After forming the shapes, the gummy candies are dried to their final moisture content and texture by stoving. Once the confections are removed from the starch molds and cleaned, they may be passed through glazing that wets the products with either steam or oil. 

Many consumers, especially mature populations, avoid gummy candies because they stick to their teeth. Gummy candies formulated with Carrageenan offer a range of desirable textures from soft, easy to chew to firmer, short-textured candies. Gummies made width Carrageenan provide clean flavor release, decreased set-up time, and heat stability upon storage. 

In addition, Carrageenan offers processing ease in gummy manufacture: It may be dry blended first with sugar and added to the hot syrup mixture. Traditional gelatin or starch based gummies must first include a step for dissolution of these ingredients. 

Carrageenan in Gummy Candies