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Tag: egg-free

April 20, 2022
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Fiberstar Blog

Egg Replacement: The Good Egg – Citrus Fiber

The market demands egg replacement options due to price and availability fluctuations, plant-based lifestyle trends and allergen-free food requirements. Though many solutions exist today, Citri-Fi® citrus fiber is one clean label option available to partially replace egg depending on the food product. Due to the citrus fiber’s high water holding and emulsification properties, Citri-Fi works synergistically with other food ingredients such as starches, gums and plant fibers to remove egg entirely.

Real eggs are the workhorse ingredients in the food world. They have so many functions in baked goods including aeration, browning color, binding, humectancy and leavening to improve the texture over shelf-life. Moreover, eggs provide coagulation, coatings, crystallization control and richness to a variety of other foods. Besides the functional benefits, eggs also fortify foods with protein content. So, why would the market demand egg replacement options?

Eggs experience pricing fluctuations like any other food staple. Temporary anomalies such as the current Avian flu create price hikes and supply constraints that affect companies that are not locked into contracts or lack buying power. On the other hand, there are other market dynamics at play that drive the need for egg replacers. For instance, there is a wave of consumers shifting toward a plant-based diet. Because of this, people are looking for animal-free including egg-free foods. Another segment steers away from egg products due to allergen concerns. Typically, if one allergen is avoided such as gluten, other allergens are added to the elimination list. For example, many restaurants are converting over to vegan mayonnaise for food safety and allergen reasons.

A Nest Full of Egg Replacement Options

There have been egg replacers on the market for over 10 years now or more. And they vary amongst different ingredients such as food gums, dairy and wheat proteins, starches, plant fibers and blends of these ingredients. Other types of ingredients also include leaveners, enzymes and emulsifiers. The type of ingredients used highly depends on the food product that the egg is used in. And each ingredient has both pros and cons. For instance, some ingredients are chemically modified, some are considered allergens and some lack nutritional contributions. In the end, egg replacement requires multiple ingredients or a systems approach. Dialing into that exact system is a challenge especially to reach 100% egg replacement.

Citrus Fiber as an Egg Replacer Formulation Tool

As mentioned, some plant fibers provide some of the lost functionality in an eggless food. For example, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is a potential solution. This natural ingredient provides high water holding and emulsification properties similar to eggs. As a result, product developers can reduce the amount of egg in the formulation. And when used with other hydrocolloids, 100% egg replacement may be possible especially in bakery products.

Citri-Fi can partially replace eggs in baked goods including pancakes, cookies, layer cakes and muffins. This citrus fiber extends eggs in bakery fillings like custards too. In both instances, less than 1% will create high quality bakery products. In addition, these baked goods tend to maintain freshness over time improving shelf-life. This natural citrus fiber is added in with the dry ingredients such as flour and sugar before the liquid phase.

This natural ingredient is allergen-free and ideal as a gluten-free bakery ingredient. Many gluten-free products avoid ingredients such as egg, soy, wheat and dairy. These ingredients tend to provide water holding, binding, structure and emulsification to the food. Without using one or more of these food ingredients, the bakery product tends to lose quality. However, Citri-Fi, at <1% usage level, provides moisture retention and oil and water binding to improve the structure and freshness over time.

Yet, Citri-Fi also shines in egg-free spreads such as vegan mayonnaise. This citrus fiber’s high intact pectin content creates an emulsion with the other food ingredients which does not break over time. As a result, the mayonnaise remains uniform and creamy.

If you have additional questions about citrus fiber as a potential egg replacement ingredient, please contact us.

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May 12, 2020
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Fiberstar Blog

5 Way to Create Healthy Food using Citrus Fiber

Citri-Fi® citrus fiber creates high quality healthy food. For instance, this natural citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties. As a result, this natural citrus fiber can reduce oil, fat, eggs and add dietary fiber to an array of food products like bakery, beverages, dressings and snacks. 

Creating healthy food today involves subtracting negatively perceived ingredients in addition to adding health promoting elements. For instance, food makers continue to reduce oils and fats in foods. As a result, consumers benefit from lower calories. On the other hand, creating better foods entails removing allergens such as soy, gluten or egg. Regardless, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is an ultimate tool in creating healthier high quality foods. Since this citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties, it improves stability, texture and nutrition in a variety of food products.

1.  Increase Fiber Contribution in a Variety of Foods

Today, food makers incorporate dietary fiber to make fiber claims. Since not all fibers are created the same, food manufacturers use more than one fiber type like a cocktail. For instance, some foods use functional fibers like Citri-Fi citrus fiber to provide water holding and emulsification properties. At the same time, formulators add other fibers simply to meet the dietary fiber claim requirements. The beauty of Citri-Fi is that its functional attributes benefit a variety of healthy food while also contributing fiber. For example, this citrus fiber improves mouthfeel and clouding in beverages such as ready-to-drink (RTD) and powdered drinks. And Citri-Fi enhances other foods like nutrition bars, snacks and bakery items.

Also, this functional citrus fiber replaces other ingredients like starches, gums and stabilizers. As a result, Citri-Fi cleans up label declarations while improving the nutritional profile. Citri-Fi's labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour.

2.  Reduce Oil or Fat in Bakery Products

Citri-Fi citrus fiber's high water holding capacity allows bakers to reduce oil and/or fats in baked goods. For instance, when Citri-Fi is used between 0.25% to 1.00% in muffins, cookies or cakes, this natural ingredient retains moisture. As a result, bakery item's freshness factor remains for a longer period time. And this citrus fiber creates a texture that simulates a full-fat mouthfeel which consumers expect. Citri-Fi replaces up to 50% of oil or fat in bakery products without comprising the quality.

3. Remove Egg Products in Dressings and Sauces

Another industry trend is egg-free dressings and sauces which improves the nutritional profile. For instance, dressings like mayonnaise can now be made egg-less without compromising the texture. Citri-Fi citrus fiber's oil and binding power make this happen. Now, these type of products give vegan and vegetarians more options. And due to recent food safety concerns, food services switched to egg-free dressings and sauce food products. Either way, this natural citrus fiber creates a smooth texture that remains stable for long periods of time at low usage levels. 

4.  Minimize Saturated Fats in Meat Alternatives 

Citri-Fi citrus fiber also reduces saturated fats in meat substitution products like meat-free patties. Since many meat alternatives use coconut oil, these products tend to contain high amounts of saturated fats. When Citri-Fi 100 series is used in an emulsion, this natural ingredient allows food makers to use unsaturated oils and at a lower level. At the same time, the meat alternative is juicy and succulent during the cooking process. And to improve the meat-like texture, Fiberstar recently launched Citri-Fi TX. This new citrus fiber provides cold binding which allows food makers to replace binders like gluten. As a result, those formulating without allergens benefit with a clean label binding system.

5.  Improve Gluten-free Food Texture, Nutrition and Quality

Gluten-free continues to be a market need. Initially, first generation foods were loaded with simple carbohydrates with a short shelf-life. However, today, food makers focus on creating higher quality and healthier versions. And manufacturers upgraded to a more wholesome approach to gluten-free food making. Citri-Fi citrus fiber is an ideal solution when creating gluten-free foods. Because this natural citrus fiber holds onto water, gluten-free foods retain moisture longer. As a result, this improves the freshness factor. And because Citri-Fi meets the FDA fiber guidelines, this natural ingredient contributes fiber to the overall nutrition.

 

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April 21, 2020
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Fiberstar Blog

Egg-Free Sauces: A Hard Egg to Crack BLOG

Citri-Fi® citrus provides natural emulsification and high stability to egg-free sauces and dressings like mayonnaise. As low as 0.25% to 1.50% usage level delivers thickness and full body to no egg dressing food products. Due to its high functionality, this citrus fiber also replaces starches and gums to clean up food labeling.

Eggs are essential when creating foods such as baked goods, dairy desserts, dressings and sauces. Because of its composition, eggs offer the biggest bang for the buck - emulsification. On the other hand, despite eggs being a natural food, it does not serve the vegan, vegetarian and/or allergen-free markets. And in some markets, developers seek out egg-free options to create healthier and safe food products for retail and food service. In that case, Citri-Fi citrus fiber is an excellent natural ingredient to use when creating egg-free sauces and dressings.

Creating Egg-cellent Egg-free Sauces

Citri-Fi citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties. Due to its composition, this natural fiber binds oil and water and creates highly stable sauces. As a result, formulators can eliminate eggs in certain egg-free sauces and dressings like mayonnaise. Citri-Fi's recommended usage levels range between 0.25% to 1.50%. And because this functional fiber provides similar benefits to eggs, Citri-Fi also replaces starches and gums which are typical go-to's when formulating egg-free sauces. Citri-Fi cleans up labels and creates high quality food products. For instance, Citri-Fi's labeling options include citrus fiber, dried citrus pulp or citrus flour which resonate well in the natural food markets.

Moreover, Citri-Fi citrus fiber also provides thickness and full body mouthfeel. This plant-based ingredient is vegan, vegetarian and allergen-free. It has no E-number which is ideal for certain markets like Europe. Citri-Fi creates highly stable egg-less sauces and dressings. Learn more about natural emulsification or creating no egg sauces by checking out the video library.

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