French starch and starch derivative company Cerestar, recently taken over by US agribusiness Cargill, has launched a new ingredient for gelatine-free dairy desserts. C*Delight from Cerestar Food and PharmaSpecialities is a starch-based gelatine replacer able to withstand elevated temperatures as well as acidic conditions to improve the quality of yoghurts.
The company claims that the product is expected to appeal particularly to manufacturers aiming theirproducts at vegetarians and those avoiding animal products on a religious basis.
Michael vom Dorp at Cerestar's Application Centre Food and Pharma said:"Many gelatine replacers are unable to be used in the production of yoghurtsas they cannot withstand the high temperatures that occur during productionas well as the acidic conditions it creates.
Because C*Delight is a spray-dried maltodextrin, ithas a bland taste so will not interfere with the flavours in the desserts andit actually creates a mouthfeel similar to cream."
According to Cerestar the acidic resistance of C*Delight extends for pH values from three toseven, where the influence on consistency and strength will be negligible.It can also tolerate homogenisation and UHT conditions without damage.
Cerestar added that C*Delight can produce a higher viscosity for extra-thickyoghurts by combining it with C*PolarTex.
Cerestar's Application Centre for Food and Pharma is based in Vilvoorde, Belgium.