Effect of modified cassava starch as a fat replacer on the texture and quality characteristics of muffins

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of modified cassava starch as a partial fat replacer on the quality characteristics of muffins. Cross-linked cassava starch (CCS) was used to replace fat at 8, 12 and 16% substitution levels, based on the total weight of the wheat flour. The thermal properties of the CCS and wheat flour were assessed, and the pasting and farinographic properties of the wheat flour-CCS mixtures were also evaluated. The addition of CCS had an adverse effect on the dough stability and development time, which decreased as the amount of CCS increased in the mixture. The gelatinization and retrogradation entalphies of the CCS were higher than those of the wheat flour. The final and setback viscosities of the wheat flour were higher than those of the wheat flour-CCS mixtures. Furthermore, the quality and textural characteristics of the muffins were determined. There were no significant differences in the weight loss, specific volume, crumb moisture content or color parameters of the muffins. The muffins containing CCS at fat replacement levels of 8% (T8) had the textural properties that were closest to those of the muffins without the CCS (control sample). Thus, this sample was chosen to evaluate the storage behavior over 7 days along with the control muffins. The T8 samples had a higher crumb firmness during the storage. There were no significant differences in the overall acceptability of the T8 and control muffins on days 2 and 4 of the storage. So, the T8 muffins had good acceptability by consumers despite having a higher firmness during the storage.