characteristics are altered. As most consumers enjoy the taste of high-fat foods, reduced fat versions are often rejected because they do not match the taste and palatability of their full-fat counterparts Fat and oil impart many functional, nutritional and sensory properties in food products. Fats interact with other ingredients to develop texture, mouthfeel, structure and lubricity of foods. 3 Fat also acts as a flavour carrier, which enhances the perception of taste. Because fats provide numerous qualities in foods, fat replacement becomes a difficult task. 4 Fat replacers play a role in substituting some of the functional properties of fat. Unfortunately, most fat replacers cannot recreate the functional and sensory properties of fats. Thus, a 'systems approach' to fat replacement, using several carbohydrate, protein or lipid-based ingredients individually or in combination, is often used. 5 Combinations of carbohydrate substitutes are becoming an interesting area in the development of reduced fat baked goods. Specifically, maltodextrins and highfructose corn sweetener 90 (HFCS-90) can function as fat mimetics in flour-based dry mixes, baking systems and fillings and icings. Maltodextrin and high-fructose corn syrups (HFCS) are nutritive polysaccharides obtained from the hydrolysis of corn starch. Maltodextrin use in baked goods such as cakes, muffins and soft cookies is increasing, however no one formulation will fit every application. 6 Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the synergistic effects of maltodextrin and HFCS-90 (as a partial replacement for sucrose) on the baking quality in a fat-reduced muffin.
Materials and methods
FormulaA standard full-fat muffin formula was used as a basis for comparison along with the fat-reduced muffin, which contained an enzyme system, emulsifier and a fat Abstract Low-fat muffins were prepared using as fat substitutes a combination of maltodextrin and high-fructose corn sweetener 90 (HFCS-90), which replaced sucrose at a rate of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The focus of the investigation was to determine the synergistic effects of these two ingredients on the physical properties in a low-fat muffin. Results indicated that maltodextrin and HFCS-90 were effective in maintaining moisture and water activity (a w ) levels similar (P > 0.05) to the full-fat muffin. Texture profiles indicated that the low-fat variations were firmer (P < 0.05) than the full-fat counterpart. Increased levels of HFCS-90 had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on crust and crumb darkening. Maltodextrin alone significantly (P < 0.05) impeded the staling rate during storage. However, when maltodextrin was combined with increased levels of HFCS-90, the staling rate accelerated.The two ingredients were found to be effective in maintaining product quality, but HFCS-90 could only be used up to a 50% replacement before any adverse effects in product quality were observed.