Sfogliatella Riccia Napoletana: realization of a lard- and palm oil- free "ready to eat" product

In the last years, demand for “ready to eat” (RTE) products has exponentially increased because of lifestyle changing and new technologies introducing, such as microwave. This reflects a trend by consumers towards less time and effort in the preparation of food. One of the most important sectors of the RTE product market is the baked confectionery segment. Sfogliatella Riccia Napoletana (SRN), recognized as Traditional Agri-food Product (Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali - PAT) of Campania Region, is worldwide known and appreciated for its goodness. But its production is limited to local markets. In order to extend market area on an international basis, PhD research was divided into two steps focused on - Production of lard- and palm oil- free RTE-SRN Lard is traditionally used in SRN production for its technological properties and low cost, but there is a growing negative perception regarding the implication of animal fats on human health. Palm oil is widely used as a cheaper vegetable alternative to lard, because of the high thermal stability and oil yield, however, it is nowadays under discussion, mostly related to sustainability of its cultivation. So, the replacement of lard (traditionally used) in the formulation of SRN with palm oil- free vegetable blends was studied. Besides, alternative baking methods -microwave and/or infrared- as substitute to traditional one for the production of RTE-SRN were assessed. According to data, a combined baking based on electric-infrared-microwave allowed baking time halving, with the advantage of combining time and energy saving properties of microwave baking with browning and crisping properties of infrared and electric heating. The substitution of lard with palm oil-free vegetable blend, composed of shea butter, coconut oil and sunflower oil at different percentages, led to a reduction of oxidized compounds during cooking. - Storage evaluation SRN is characterized by high moisture and aw content, so its shelf life is limited by microbial spoilage, mostly due to moulds and staling. In order to achieve longer shelf life of RTE-SRN, frozen and refrigerated preservation combined with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were employed. Results revealed that it is possible to obtain a RTE-SRN with a stable oxidative and moisture behaviour during prolonged frozen storage. Also substituting lard with palm oil-free fat, it is possible to obtain a product with sensory and textural qualities close to freshly baked SRN made with lard. Indeed, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (CO2/N2 50/50) combined with refrigerated storage revealed an energy saving alternative preservation method, ensuring acceptable sensory, physical and chemical stability to RTE-SRN stored at 5 °C for 49 days, extending to three times the shelf life compared to air packaging. Palm oil-free RTE-SRN preserved a better oxidative stability for the whole storage time. The above findings can be applicable by baking industry to a large variety of confectionery bakery products

The effects of probiotics and prebiotics on the fatty acid profile and conjugated linoleic acid content of fermented cow milk

The ability of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus La5 and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb12), to produce conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in association with Streptococcus thermophilus and Lb. bulgaricus during milk fermentation has been evaluated in this study. Pasteurized cow milk and infant formula were used. Infant formula was selected for its high linoleic acid content, for being a source of CLA and for its prebiotic compounds, e.g. galacto-oligosaccharides. The microorganisms were not able to increase the CLA content of the fermented products under the given experimental conditions. No statistically significant differences (p>0.05) occurred between the CLA content in milk and the fermented samples. The CLA contents of 10 commercial fermented milk products were determined. The highest CLA content was observed in fermented milk containing only Str. thermophilus and Lb. bulgaricus. © 2015 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved

“Sfogliatella Riccia Napoletana”: Realization of a Lard-Free and Palm Oil-Free Pastry

“Sfogliatella riccia napoletana” is a typical pastry from Naples (Italy), traditionally produced using lard. In the bakery industry, palm oil is widely used to replace lard in order to obtain products without cholesterol, but it is currently under discussion, which is mostly related to the sustainability of its cultivation. Therefore, in this work, lard was replaced with palm oil-free vegetable blends composed of sunflower oil, shea butter, and coconut oil in different percentages. Traditional pastries produced with lard and pastries produced with palm oil were used as controls. Moisture, aw, free acidity, peroxide value, fatty acids, total polar compounds, and global acceptability were determined in the obtained pastries. The results indicated that the use of a vegetable oil blend composed of 40% sunflower oil, 40% shea butter, and 20% coconut oil minimized the formation of oxidized compounds (peroxides and total polar compounds) during cooking and produced a product with a moisture content very similar to that of the traditional pastry that was appreciated by consumers

Evaluation of microfiltration and heat treatment on the microbiological characteristics, phenolic composition and volatile compound profile of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) juice

BACKGROUND: Since processing technology and storage may influence the sensory and nutritional value as well as the shelf life of pomegranate juice (PJ), mild technologies based on microfiltration may be a promising alternative to heat treatments for fruit juice preservation. In this study, physicochemical and microbiological properties of raw (RPJ), microfiltered (MPJ) and cloudy pasteurized (PPJ) PJ were compared over a period of 4weeks. RESULTS: Data demonstrated that microfiltration was comparable to pasteurization in guaranteeing microbiological stability of the juice, avoiding spoilage of the final product. After treatment, PPJ showed the highest amounts of gallic acid (GA) and ellagic acid derivatives (EAs). During storage, the amount of ellagitannins, EAs and GA similarly decreased in all types of juice. Trends towards variations of monomeric anthocyanins in MPJ and variations of polymeric and copigmented anthocyanins in both MPJ and PPJ were found over storage. CONCLUSION: The optimization of pretreatments and filtration parameters can lead to the industrial scale-up of microfiltration technology for the development of high-quality non-heat-treated PJ. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry

Stabilità termo-ossidativa di oli di girasole “alto oleici” nella frittura prolungata e discontinua

Valutazione della stabilità ossidativa di oli di girasole ad elevato contenuto di acido oleico durante il processo di frittura prolungato e discontinu

Liquid Carbon Dioxide Use in the Extraction of Extra Virgin Olive Oil From Olive Paste

were examined and extracted oil was compared with oils obtained by centrifugation, pressure and use of chemical solvent. It is well known that the use of CO2 has many advantages: miscibility with a wide range of molecules, food safety, non-flammability, absence of residues in the extract, possibility of total solvent recovery and no production of olive mill waste water that are highly polluting for the environment and require expansive disposal. Samples were subjected to the following analyses: determination of Free Fatty Acids (FFA), Peroxides Value (PV), Spectrophotometric Indices, Fatty Acids Composition (FA), determination of biophenols content and determination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). All samples showed FFA, PV and ΔK values within the limits established by law for extra-virgin olive oil. The use of CO2 did not catalyze hydrolysis, oxidation and condensation of double bonds. Centrifuged oils and oils extracted with carbon dioxide presented the lowest PV and FFA values. Extraction with liquid carbon dioxide contributed to an increasing of phenolic content with a value of 270.5 mg/kg, a value twice that of the oils extracted with centrifugation (135.3 mg/kg) or pressure methods (173.2 mg/kg). Oil extracted with liquid carbon dioxide showed the greatest amount of t-2-octenal and t-2-heptenal, giving herbaceous and pungent notes. Moreover the presence of aromatic compounds such as limonene, generally absent in olive oils, was only detected in the sample extracted with liquid carbon dioxide

Comparison of thermal stability of super high oleic and high oleic sunflower oil added with α-tocopherol acetate during prolonged and discontinuous frying process

confronto della stabilità termica di oli di girasole alto oleici in presenza di alfa-tocoferolo durante il processo di frittura prolungato e discontinu