CHAPTER 10: FATS, OILS, AND EMULSIFIERS Flashcards
High quality bakes goods require a glance between what?
Tougheners and tenderizers, moisteners and driers.
Any proper formula will already contain a proper balance of ingredients, but what is still helpful to know?
An understanding of the ingredients that contribute to this balance.
What are some indispensable moisteners and tenderizers?
Fats, oils and emulsifiers.
Despite recommendations for a healthful diet, what can baked goods not be made without?
Most cannot be made without fat.
Lipids are loosely defined as what?
Substances that do not dissolve in water.
Fats, oils, emulsifiers, and flavor oils (peppermint oil and orange oil) are all classified as what?
Lipids
Fats are, strictly speaking, lipids that are ______ at room temperature.
solid
Is the term fat also commonly used to refer to any lipid? Example?
Yes, whether fat, oil, or emulsifier. The amount of fat listed on food labels includes the amount of solid fat, liquid oil, and emulsifiers present in the food product.
Triglyceride chain.
C - FA I C - FA I C - FA
Oils are lipids that are _____ at room temperature.
liquid
Oils are typically from what source?
Vegetable sources, such as soybean, cottonseed, canola, and corn.
Are tropical oils sold or liquid at room temperature?
Solid at 70ºF (21ºC) but melt quickly in a warm room.
Name three tropical oils.
Coconut, palm kernel, palm
Chemically speaking, fats and oils are what?
Triglycerides.
Triglycerides consist of what?
Three (tri) fatty acids attached to a three-carbon glycerol (glycerin) molecule.
Fatty acids are composed of what?
Carbon chains that typically contain anywhere from four to twenty-two carbon atoms.
Why is it important to understand the chemistry of fatty acids in more detail?
They are important to the makeup of fats and oils.
Can fatty acids be saturated or unsaturated?
Yes
Carbon atoms on saturated fatty acids are saturated with what?
Hydrogen atoms. That is, they cannot hold more hydrogen, and all bonds between carbon atoms are single.
Unsaturated fatty acids contain how many how many carbon atoms?
Two or more carbon atoms that are not fully saturated with hydrogen atoms.
Carbon atoms that are not fully saturated form what?
Double bonds.
Why don’t fats melt like ice?
Unlike pure water, which consists of identical molecules of H2O, fats contain a mix of different fatty acids. While identical water molecules melt at the same temperature (32ºF; 0ºC), each fatty acid melts at its own distinct temperature.
Explain how the structure of solid fats is like ice.
Solid fats contain many tiny fat crystals. Fat crystals consist of fat molecules arranged in an orderly fashion, bonded one to the next. For solid fat to melt, these bonds must break, just as ice crystals must break apart for ice to melt.
When fat softens, it is because some fat crystals have what?
Some fat crystals have melted while others have not.
Butter softens noticeably around what temperature? Why isn’t it completely melted? When does it completely melt?
Softens around 80ºF (27ºC) because many of the bonds between shorter fatty acids have broken. It is not until 90ºF (32ºC) and above that bonds break between longer fatty acids in butter, and it liquefies completely.
Why do fats like butter have a pleasant mouthfeel? What about shortening?
Fats, such as butter, melt quickly and completely from body heat. Fats that melt slowly or incompletely, such as all-purpose shortening, tend to have a less pleasant, often waxy mouthfeel.
Unsaturated fatty acids are either _______________ or ______________. Why?
Monounsaturated (having one double bond), polyunsaturated (having more than one double bond between carbon atoms).
All common food fats contain what?
A distinct mix of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Typically, the higher a fat is in saturated fatty acids, the more _______ the fat.
solid
Name three fats that are all high in saturated fat.
Animal fat, cocoa butter, tropical oils.
Why are most vegetable oils liquid at room temp?
Because they’re low in saturated fatty acids.
Whats are trans fatty acids?
Unsaturated fatty acids where the two hydrogen atoms of a double bond are on opposite sides of each other.
Most naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids__“cis” fatty acids–have the two hydrogen atoms on the same side of what?
The double bond.
Have many fats and oils used in the bakeshop been hydrogenated?
Yes
How are fats and oils hydrogenated?
By exposing them to hydrogen gas in the presence of high heat, pressure, and a catalyst, such as nickel.
What do catalysts do?
Speed up chemical reactions without actually being used up in the reaction.
Name a biological catalyst.
Enzymes
Name a metal catalyst.
Nickel
What happens to nickel in hydrogenated fats?
It is removed before the fats are packaged and sold.
Hydrogenation of fats is a process where hydrogen is added to to what?
Unsaturated fatty acids their double bonds.
Hydrogenation saturates carbon atoms with hydrogen, converting unsaturated fatty acids to what?
Saturated fatty acids
Why are parts only partially hydrogenated?
Fully saturated fats are so solid they’re hard to work with.
Leaving some unsaturated fatty acids makes the mass what?
Soft and plastic.
Is hydrogenation the same as adding air to fats? What’s the difference?
No, hydrogenation is a chemical process that changes the fatty acid molecule by forcing hydrogen into it. Aeration occurs when air is whipped into solid fat, as when fat is creamed. For this to occur, fats must be soft and plastic. Hydrogenation is one way to create this.
Why hydrogenate?
To increase their solidity and increase stability against oxidative rancidity.
When would solidity be desired in fat?
Flakiness and volume in pastry or to decrease the greasiness in doughnuts and cookies.
What is oxidative rancidity?
The breakdown of fatty acids that leads to rancid off flavors.
What goes rancid faster, unsaturated or saturated fatty acids?
The more unsaturated a fatty acid, the faster it undergoes oxidative rancidity.
What oxidizes faster, mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids?
Poly
What are plastic fats?
Plastic fats aren’t made from plastic. Rather, they are edible fats that have a plastic consistency, meaning that they are soft, moldable solids, such as Play-Doh.
Are plastic fats part liquid and part solid? What does this mean?
Yes, it means they consist of liquid oil trapped in a network of solid fat crystals.
Examples of fats that are plastic at room temp.
All-purpose shortening, lard, and butter.
Fats that are not plastic include what?
Vegetable oils, which are liquid at room temp, and cocoa butter, which is a hard solid.
Does plasticity depend on temperature?
Yes
All-purpose shortening is plastic when _______ and is still plastic when the bakeshop ________.
refrigerated, warms
What is one of the advantages of shortening?
It keeps its soft, workable consistency over a wide range over temperatures.
Highly unsaturated fats can oxidize how much faster than highly saturated ones?
100 times faster
Hydrogenation reduces oxidative rancidity by converting unsaturated fatty acids into what?
saturated ones
Hydrogenation reduces oxidative rancidity by converting polyunsaturated fatty acids into what?
Less unsaturated ones.
Does even a small amount of hydrogenation help reduce oxidative rancidity?
Yes, that is why vegetable oils, which remain liquid and therefore don’t appear hydrogenated, sometimes are.
Is regular soybean oil highly polyunsaturated when extracted from the soybean?
Yes, but partially hydrogenating it make the oil less likely to oxidize.
Describe the smell of oxidized oil.
Beany, fishy, or painty smell.
What is the most common vegetable oil in the bakeshop? Why?
Soybean because of its use in shortenings, margarines, and vegetable fat.
What are the two largest crops in the US?
Corn, then soybeans.
Standard mature dry soybean contains how much oil?
20% and over half is polyunsaturated.
Unfortunate downside of hydrogenation?
It generates saturated fatty acids, which can increase blood cholesterol and risk of coronary disease. The greater downside is creating trans fatty acids.
Do natural amounts of of trans fats occur in butter?
Yes
Greatest source of trans fats in North America.
Partial, but not totally hydrogenated oil.
Since January 2006, manufacturers must disclose what?
Amount of trans fats on their labels.
Why are trans fatty acids a concern?
They tend to increase LDL while also decreasing HDL. In doing so, increasing risk of coronary heart disease even more than naturally saturated fatty acids. Also been implicated in certain cancers.
What was created in response to trans fatty acids?
New versions of vegetable fats and oils that are trans-free yet have the stability and functions approaching that of regular fats and oils.
How have some of these new fats and oils been created?
Soybeans and other oil sources can be specially bred to be naturally low in polyunsaturated fatty acids without having to undergo hydrogenation.
These new liquid oils are often called what? Why?
Low-life oils because they are naturally low in alpha linolenic acid (ALA), a polyunsaturated fat that is highly susceptible to rancidity.
Name three plants that are made with this new approach.
Soybean, canola, sunflower.
Is it possible to produce trans-free plastic fats? Example.
Yes, trans-free shortenings and margarines can be made from fats that are naturally saturated, such as palm oil and coconut oil. Because they are naturally saturated, these tropical oils do not need partial hydrogenation. to achieve a soft plastic consistency and therefore are trans-free.
Why does blending fully hydrogenated fats with liquid oils also make trans-free plastic shortenings and margarines?
Full hydrogenation, unlike partial, does not generate trans-fats.
Have baked goods and fried food been implicated as two major sources of saturated and trans fats in our diets?
Yes, because bakers and pastry chefs cannot replace all saturated fats with unsaturated ones.
Fats (and oils) differ from each other in what ways?
Cost, flavor, consistency, amount of fat, amount of air, amount of water, and melting point.
Do additives, salt, colors, flavors, antimicrobial agents, milk solids and more affect how each fat functions in the bakeshop?
Yes
Butter is made from what?
Heavy cream, an emulsion of butterfat suspended in milk.
While some of the fat in chilled cream is in the form of liquid globules, a large amount consists of what?
Tiny solid fat crystals, so tiny that cream, while thickened by these solid crystals, seems totally liquid in the mouth.
Butter manufacturing is the separation of what?
Both solid fat crystals and liquid globules, from much of the remaining liquid, or buttermilk.
As with other fats, butter provides what important functions?
Moistness, tenderness, flakiness, and volume. But this does not explain the widespread use of butter in bakeshops since it does not excel at any of these functions.
Butter’s two main functions.
Mouthfeel and flavor. No other fat can match these two attributes.
Margarine may contain natural butter flavor and have a low final melting point, but it still doesn’t have what?
Superior flavor and texture of butter.
Final melting point is defines as what?
The temperature at which no solid fat crystals are visible; fat is completely clear liquid.
Butter is too hard to work with at what temp?
50ºF (10ºC)
Butter is too soft to work with at what temp?
80ºF (27ºC)
The best temp range for working with butter.
65ºF-70ºF (18-21ºC)
With laminated doughs why should butter be as solid as possible?
Because flakiness and volume are very important.
Butter’s final melting point is often stated around what?
94ºF (34ºC)
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: ANNATTO
Natural coloring from the seed of the annatto (anchiote) shrub.
Color for butter.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: BETA CAROTENE
A form of vitamin A
Color for margarine
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: BHA
Synthetic antioxidant; butylated hydroxyanisole
Minimizes oxidative rancidity.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: BHT
Synthetic antioxidant; butylated hydroxytoluene
Minimizes oxidative rancidity
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: CITRIC ACID
Organic acid, especially high in citrus fruits.
Minimizes oxidative rancidity, especially in lard.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: COTTON SEED OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED
From seed of cotton plant.
Added to plastic shortening to encourage formation of proper crystal structure for creaming.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: DIMETHYLPOLYSILOXANE
Silicone derivative
Added to frying fats to reduce foaming.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: LECITHIN
Emulsifier
Added to margarine to minimize spattering during pan sautéing.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES
Emulsifiers
Added to high ratio shortenings to increase moistness, tenderness, prevent staling of baked goods.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: PALM OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED
From flesh of palm fruits
Added to plastic shortening to encourage formation of proper crystal formation for creaming.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: POLYGLYCEROL ESTERS
Emulsifiers
Prevents clouding is salad oil
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: POTASSIUM SORBATE
Potassium salt of sorbic acid, a natural organic acid
Added to margarine to prevent microbial growth
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: PROPYL GALLATE
Synthetic antioxidant
Minimizes oxidative rancidity, especially in lard
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONOSTEARATE
Emulsifier
Highly effective emulsifier in high-ratio liquid shortenings
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: SALT
Sodium chloride
Flavoring and preservative in butter and margarine.
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: SODIUM BENZOATE
Sodium salt and benzoic acid, a natural organic compound
Added to margarine to prevent microbial growth
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: STEARIC ACID
Naturally saturated fatty acid
Added to high ratio liquid shortening as an emulsifier
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: TBHQ
Synthetic antioxidant; tert-butylhydroquinone
Minimizes oxidative rancidity especially in lard
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: TOCOPHEROLS
Mixture of vitamin E and related molecules; Antioxidant
Minimizes oxidative rancidity
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: VITAMIN A PALMITATE
Added to margarine as a vitamin
Give a description and common use in fats and oils: VITAMIN D
Added to margarine as a vitamin.
Disadvantages of butter.
It’s expensive and fluctuates with the seasons and supply. Butterfat is undesirable from a health standpoint.
Highest of common bakeshop fats in saturated fat; even higher than lard.
Butterfat
Why is butter one of the hardest fats to work with?
Its narrow plastic range.
First step of butter manufacturer.
Pasteurize cream, then cool it to 60ºF (16ºC).
If desired, what may be added before the cream is vigorously agitated, or churned.
Natural yellow annatto color.
At first, churning action produces what? Describe what happens next during churning.
Whipped cream, as air is whipped in. Solid fat crystals surround and stabilize the air cells, but soon, warm temperatures soften the fat crystals. Continued violent agitation causes fat crystals and fat globules to clump. Eventually, large pools of liquid buttermilk seep out and chunks of butter form, as whipped cream collapses.
After churning, what happens to the butter chunks?
They’re washed with cold water, salted if desired, then worked or kneaded, to shape and to remove excess water.
Because kneading also softens butter, it is sometimes called what?
Work softening.
What remains at the end of the butter making process?
Smooth mixture of solid fat crystals, water droplets, air bubbles, milk solids, and liquid butterfat trapped throughout.
Why must pastries that rely on butter for leavening be chilled before baking?
Because butter is temperamental and melts quickly. If it isn’t cold enough or oven isn’t set properly, the dough will sag or not rise properly.
Does butter spoil faster than other fats?
Yes, especially if it isn’t salted.
Butter is susceptible to bacterial spoilage if it is not what?
Refrigerated for the short term or frozen for the long term.
Butter that has undergone bacterial spoilage taste like what?
Sour milk or rancid off flavor.
Butter can be classified by the type of what used in production?
Cream
Two types of butter.
Cultured butter and sweet cream butter.
Cultured butter is made from what?
Sour cream, where bacteria have converted lactose to lactic acid.
Cultured butter is also called what?
Ripened butter.
Flavor of cultured butter.
Distinct sour flavor, similar to sour cream.
Is cultured butter ever salted?
Rarely, if ever.
Is sweet cream butter more mild than cultured?
Yes
Why is it called sweet cream?
The cream has not been soured, not because it contains sweetener.
Are both types of butter available worldwide?
Yes, but there are regional preferences.
Sweet cream is traditional where?
North America and Great Britain.
Cultured butter is traditional where?
Certain countries in Europe, particularly France, Germany, and Switzerland.
European-style butter made and sold in North America is what?
Either cultured butter or sweet cream butter with an added cultured cream flavor.
Example of European style butter made with an added cultured cream flavor.
Plugrá
Minimum amount of butterfat required in the US and Canada.
80%
European butters require how much butterfat?
Slightly lower than 82%. However, it’s not uncommon for them to have as much as 86%.
Butter containing a higher amount of butterfat typically has what texture?
Smoother, creamier texture and mouthfeel.
Butterfat consists mostly of what?
Triglycerides with a small amount of natural emulsifiers.
Emulsifiers make up what % of butterfat?
2-3%, including mono- and diglycerides and lecithin.
The remaining 20% of butters makeup includes what?
Water (typically 16%), milk solids, and salt, if added.
Milk solids consist of water?
Proteins, lactose and minerals.
Three grades of butter in the US.
Grades AA, A, and B.
US grades most often seen.
AA and A, but grade B is available.
Is the grading of butter a voluntary system by the USDA?
Yes
Most important attribute of butter.
Flavor
Of the three grades, which is made from the freshest cream? Describe its flavor.
AA, it has a mild flavor with minimal flavor defects.
Describe USDA grade A butter.
Has a stronger, slightly sour but still pleasant flavor.
Describe USDA grade B butter.
Flavor that is more like cultured butter.
A lesser part of butter’s score is related to what?
Its body or consistency and its color.
Does the cow’s diet strongly influence butter consistency? Anything else?
Yes, as does the season of the year that a cow is milked.
US Grade AA butter must have what consistency?
A smooth, creamy consistency and uniform color.
What factors of butter consistency does the manufacturer control?
Percentage of fat and milk solids in butter, the heating and cooling of cream, and how butter is churned and worked.
Canada had one grade for butter. Describe it.
Canada 1 can be mild flavored or sour, depending on whether it is made from sweet or cultured cream. Other characteristics are similar to AA and A.
Noisette in French for what?
Hazelnut
The proteins and lactose in butter may be browned deliberately to make what?
Browned butter, or beurre noisette.
How do you make beurre noisette?
Cook in a pan until water evaporates and butter has golden brown color. Remove from heat and strain the clear liquid from the solids.
Why is clarified butter a staple in restaurant kitchens.
It adds great flavor and doesn’t scorch easily because milk solids have been removed.
What contributes to Maillard browning in butter?
Proteins and lactose in milks solids.
What provides leaving in butter?
Water and small amount of air.
Why is unsalted butter used in bakeshops?
Amount of salt added varies between brands, amount of salt may be too high for certain products (buttercream), it’s easier to detect off flavors in unsalted butter.
Can butter pickup odors if not stored properly?
Yes
If using salted butter, how much should be adjusted in a recipe?
Assume 2-2.5% salt is in the butter.
Unsalted butter is sometimes called what? Why is this confusing?
Sweet butter, which is easily mistaken for sweet cream butter, which can be made salted or unsalted.
Lard is rendered from what?
Hog fat; it’s a by-product of the meat industry.
Highest grade lard is called what? Where is it located on the animal?
Leaf lard surrounds the kidneys and abdomen of the animal.
Name grades of lard.
Leaf lard, hard fat, soft fat, caul fat.
Where is hard fat located?
The back
Where is soft fat located?
Around the muscle tissue.
Where is caul fat located?
Around the stomach and intestines.
Why is the very act of making butter a form of food preservation?
Because buttermilk supports bacterial growth.
Does butter still contain some buttermilk?
Yes, so it can still spoil. This was the problem in the days before refrigeration.
How was butter preserved before refrigeration?
Salt or, in places it wasn’t available, milk was “cultured” at room temp.
How did leaving milk out at room temp help preserve butter?
Milk sat out for cream to slowly rise to the surface. The milk and cream would sour before the cream was churned. The “friendly” bacteria in sour or ripened cream slowed the growth of undesirable spoilage bacteria.
Since “culturing” milk for butter was not as effective as salting butter, what was done to improve shelf life?
A higher amount of buttermilk often was removed in the production of cultured butter. This may explain why some European butters are so high in butterfat.
Some countries simmer butter to destroy bacteria and remove water. Who does this and what is the final product called?
India makes ghee.
What creates ghee’s distinctively nutty flavor?
Maillard reaction when milk proteins and lactose are heated.
Does ghee last longer than regular butter?
Yes
In North America, more than 95% of butter sold is what?
Sweet cream butter.
Lard’s unique crystalline structure makes it valuable for providing flakiness to what?
Pastries and pie crusts.
What else is lard prized for?
Its mild meaty flavor, characteristic of certain traditional ethnic pastries.
With the exception of its two most popular uses, lard has been largely replaced by what in North America?
Shortening
Today’s lard is highly refined for what?
A mild flavor, white color, and better uniformity.
Is lard 100% fat?
Yes, but usually antioxidants are added to help prevent rancidity.
Like all plastic fats, lard traps what? Why is this useful.
Air, useful for leavening.
How is lard enhanced to improve the feature of trapping air?
Lard is sometimes hydrogenated and otherwise processed to give it a less greasy feel and to improve its creaming ability.
While enhancing lard’s leavening ability will produce fine-textured cakes, it is at the expense of what?
Providing flakiness to pastries and piecrust.
What’s so unique about lard?
…
How is fat like chocolate?
All solid fats contain solid fat crystals. Depending on the source of fat, how fat is processed, and how it is cooled, liquid fats can solidify into one of several different crystalline structures.
Three main crystalline structures of fat are what?
Alpha, beta prime, and beta.
Describe beta prime crystals.
Relatively small, they solidify to a smooth, creamy white solid handheld in lots of small air bubbles when creamed.
Beta prime crystals are ideal for producing what?
Light, airy, cakes with a fine crumb.
Todays all-purpose shortenings are designed to solidify into what?
Beta prime crystals.
Will lard solidify into beta prime crystals? What will it form instead?
No, lard naturally will not. Instead, it tends to form larger beta crystals.
Why is lard not the best choice for creating fine textured cakes?
It will not form smaller beta prime crystals needed for such a fine texture.
What gives lard its translucent appearance and coarse, grainy texture?
Beta crystals, which are also what make lard suited to providing flakiness in pastries.
What is oleo?
Another name for margarine.
Why is margarine sometimes called oleo?
The French chemist who invented it in the 1860s made it from beef fat and gave it the full name oleomargarine.
Beef fat consists primarily or what?
Oleic acid and two saturated acids (palmitic and stearic acids), which, in the 1800s, was called margarin acid.
Who shortened the name oleomargarine to margarine in 1951?
FDA
Can a blend of margarine and butter be used instead of butter?
Yes, but butter should always be used wherever mouthfeel and flavor are important. Example: brownies vs buttercream
Is margarine imitation butter?
Yes
Advantages of margarine over butter.
Lower price, contains no cholesterol, soft margarines are lower in saturated fats than butter (although they may contain trans fats), stronger flavor.
Does margarine really have stronger flavor than butter?
Yes, although it sounds like a contradiction, margarine flavor is more assertive, but less refined.
Most margarines are made from what?
Soybean oil, but they can be made from any vegetable or animal fat.
True margarine has a similar composition to butter. What does this mean?
It contains a minimum of 80% fat and about 16% water, and a similar amount of air trapped inside.
Why don’t low fat and fat free “margarines”–called spreads– generally work well in baking?
Because they contain too much water, rely on gums and starches to provide a butter-like consistency.
Margarine made without coloring and flavoring would be white and bland tasting like what?
Shortening, which is why margarine contains coloring and natural or artificial butter flavor.
Can margarine be purchased salted or unsalted?
Yes
When does margarine not need refrigeration?
When it contains salt and antimicrobial agents and does not contain milk solids (like shortening).
Margarine is a designer fat. What does this mean?
The manufacturer can blend or hydrogenate it to any degree of firmness and plasticity.
Once shortening is melted and re-hardened, it looks different. Explain.
Instead of being smooth, creamy and white, it appears hard, translucent, and somewhat gritty. This is because beta prime crystals have not reformed. Instead, larger, more stable beta crystals have formed, and the shortening will no longer cream well.
Baker’s margarine (cake margarine)
Final melting point about 90-100ºF and has the softest consistency and lowest melting point of the three types of margarine. Good for creaming; margarine of choice for cookies, icings, and cakes. Not the same mouthfeel as butter, can be somewhat greasy or oily.
Puff pastry margarine.
Extremely high final melting point, typically 115-135ºF, and a firm, waxy consistency. Pastries look picture perfect but have waxy mouthfeel.
Roll-in margarine
Medium final melting point, typically 100-115ºF, and a medium consistency. Acceptable for providing a moderate amount of flakiness and volume in laminated doughs without excessive waxiness.
Main difference between shortening and margarine.
Shortenings are 100% fat, white and bland.
Most shortenings are made from what?
Soybean oil, but can be made from any vegetable or animal fat.
What is typically added to shortening, in small amounts, to encourage the formation of beta prime crystals?
Palm and/or cottonseed oil.
Shortening was originally developed for what?
Replacement for lard.
Three main types of shortenings used in the bakeshop.
All-purpose, high-ratio plastic shortening, high-ratio liquid shortening. There are others available too. Ex: shortenings specifically for frying or icing.
All-purpose shortening
Contains no added emulsifiers. Final melting point varies with brand, but typically 110-125ºF. Contains about 10% air trapped in fat, important for leavening.
Shortening and butter manufacturers often aerate shortening with what? Why?
Nitrogen instead of air since air contains oxygen, which causes fats to undergo oxidative rancidity. Recall that air itself is almost 80% nitrogen, so it’s perfectly safe.
AP shortening is used in what products?
Where shortening is creamed or where it is rubbed into flour, as with pie dough and biscuits.
Does a typical AP shortening at room temp contain about 80% liquid oil? What is the remaining 20%?
Yes, the remaining 20% consists of a network of solid fat crystals that give AP shortening its solidity.
What is in shortening specifically made for frying that is important?
Antifoaming agent or dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone additive.
Does high-ratio plastic shortening look like AP shortening?
Yes, but has emulsifiers added.
Most common emulsifiers added in high-ratio shortenings.
Mono- and diglycerides.
High-ratio shortenings are sometimes called what?
Emulsified shortenings.
High-ratio plastic shortenings are best for what?
Icings and cakes or anything needing high amounts of air or liquid. Also useful in bread doughs where emulsifiers delay retrogradation.
High-ratio shortenings should never be used for what? Why?
Frying because the emulsifiers easily break down and smoke under high heat. And while it can be used for pie dough, there is no advantage since pie dough contains very little liquid or air and has no tendency to stale, so emulsifiers are unnecessary.
Do emulsifiers in high-ratio shortenings provide plain icings with a lighter, fluffier texture?
Yes, it hold more liquid ingredients without breaking. Same goes for buttercream made with whipped egg whites.
Describe cakes and other baked goods when made with high-ratio shortening.
Generally moister, more tender, and have a finer crumb. High-ratio shortenings also extend shel life of baked goods.
Does high-ratio liquid shortening have added emulsifiers like high-ratio plastic shortening? Difference in emulsifiers?
Yes, but it usually contains a much higher level of extremely effective emulsifiers.
High-ratio liquid shortening is much less _________ than high-ratio plastic shortenings.
hydrogenated
Why does high-ratio liquid shortening still look opaque and creamy (at room temp) even though it’s fluid?
It still contains some fat crystals.
High-ratio liquid shortening is primarily used in what?
Liquid shortening cakes, where its provides, by far, the highest volume, moist moistness, finest and most tender crumb, and the longest shelf life of any fat or oil.
High-ratio liquid shortenings are so effective at moistening and tenderizing that manufacturers often recommend what?
The amount of shortening be reduced by about 20% when switched from a plastic shortening to a liquid one.
What does high-ratio mean?
Cake batters made with emulsified shortenings also held a higher ratio of water to flour because emulsifiers are effective at holding oil and water together. Since the batters held more water, they also held more sugar, which dissolves in water. A higher ratio of sugar and water meant the ability of emulsified shortenings to increase moistness, tenderness, and shelf life that went well beyond the abilities of emulsifiers themselves. It also meant the cost of cokes was lowered, since water and sugar are inexpensive. No wonder the importance of the higher ratio of water and sugar in cake was reflected in the name of the shortening itself.
When did Proctor and Gamble first add emulsifiers to shortenings?
1930s
Are high-ratio shortenings extremely effective at incorporating air not cake batters?
Yes, making cakes a lighter, more tender product, but it does more.
What have high-ratio shortening done for cake making in America?
Besides being more tender, moist and prolonged shelf life, its lowered cost and completely changed the way cakes are made. Instead of creaming shortening as a first step in cake making, liquid shortening cake batters are mixed in a simple one-step process.
Can shortenings and butter be substituted at a one to one ratio?
Yes, but since shortenings are 100% fat and butter around 80%, the butter or margarine will be less tender and moist but have the characteristic flavor of the fat used.
You can substitute one plastic fat for another, but what about oils?
Oils should only be used for recipes developed specifically for them.
Is it sometimes smart to adjust the ingredients when subbing one plastic fat for another?
Yes
To substitute butter for shortening.
Divide the weight of shortening by 0.80 to determine the weight of butter to use. Reduce the amount of liquid (milk or water) by the difference between the two. For example: for 16 ounces of shortening, use 20 ounces and reduce the amount of liquid by 4 ounces.
For 500 grams of shortening, use _____ grams of butter and reduce the amount of liquid by ______ grams.
625;125
To substitute shortening for butter.
Multiply the weight of butter by 0.80 to determine the weight of shortening to use. Increase amount of liquid by the difference between the two. For example: 1 pound butter, use 12.75 ounces of shortening and increase the amount of liquid by 3.25 ounces.
For 500 grams of butter, use _____ grams of shortening and increase liquid by _____ grams.
400;100
Although it’s a liquid, oil contains no what?
Water
Why is oil in the bakeshop sometimes called vegetable oil?
Because it’s extracted from a vegetable source.
Why are vegetable oils sometimes labeled salad oils?
Because of their use in salad dressings.
Most common vegetable oil worldwide.
Soybean oil
While oils vary slightly in flavor can they be used interchangeably in baking?
Yes
Oil is the only common lipid that does not contribute what to baking?
Leavening
Unlike plastic fats, oil does not contain what?
Air or water
Unlike high-ratio liquid shortenings, oil does not contain what?
Emulsifiers
Why do oils generally destabilize the foaming of cake batters?
They contain anti-foaming agents for frying.
Oil is used in quick breads, muffins, and chiffon cakes to create what?
Distinctively moist and tender, yet dense, coarse crumb.
Why is oil sometimes used in pie crusts?
Oil crusts are not flaky, but they do not absorb much water when they are mixed, so they bake up tender. Once baked, they are resistant to soaking up wet, juicy fillings.
What is winterized oil?
A process in which oil is stored at cold temperatures to allow higher-melting triglycerides to crystallize. The oil is filtered to physically remove these solid fat crystals. Your left with triglycerides that are liquid are cold temperatures.
When salad oil is refrigerated, it remains crystal clear and liquid, even when fully chilled. Do the same with olive oil at it will harden and cloud. Why is that?
Because most salad oils have been winterized while most olive oils have not.
Most expensive of all oils used in the bakeshop.
Olive oil
Like other oils, olive oils can be refined to be mild-flavored and light in color, but it would then lack what?
Its attractive green-gold color and fruity flavor.
Refined olive oil is sometimes labeled what in the US?
Light
Light oil is light in what?
Flavor and color only; refined or not, olive oil has the same amount of fat.
Why is olive oil usually considered healthy?
It’s high in monounsaturated fatty acids.
Olive oil is most often sold how?
Unrefined or virgin.
Most countries follow the grades of who?
International Olive Oil Council (IOOC)
How is virgin olive oil made?
Squeezed and separated from crushed olives without the use of heat and without altering the natural oil in any way.
While virgin olive oil is often described as cold pressed, today virgin olive oil is not so much pressed as it is ________ to separate it out.
centrifuged, or spun,
The quality of virgin olive oil is defined by what?
The quality of its flavor and by the amount of free fatty acids present in the oil.
What are free fatty acids?
Fatty acids that are not part of a triglyceride molecule.
The amount of free fatty acids in olive oil is an indication of what?
The level of care taken in handling and processing the olives.
What’s the highest quality virgin olive oil?
Extra-virgin, with a fine, fruity aroma and the lowest level of free fatty acids.
Is there a wide range and flavor characteristics and prices in the extra-virgin olive oil world?
Yes
What happens to extra virgin olive oils when exposed to high heat?
They become bitter and lose their fine flavor when they are exposed to high heat.
Extra-virgin olive oils are best used when?
When there is minimal heat exposure.
What olive oil could you use when heat is higher?
Less expensive virgin or refines olive oil may be more appropriate.
Olive oil is commonly used on what?
Savory flatbreads, focaccia, pizza, and yeast-raised doughs, but it also shows up in Mediterranean specialty desserts.
Emulsifiers function by interacting with what?
Other ingredients.
How emulsifiers affect fat droplets? Whats does this do for baked goods?
Help them disperse more evenly. Better distribution of fats means more tender, better-textured baked goods.
How do emulsifiers affect with proteins?
Improving their strength and flexibility so they stretch without breaking.
Are emulsifiers liquid or solid?
They can be liquid or solid, just like fats and oils.
While some emulsifiers have pretty complicated structures, ______ and __________, the emulsifiers aded to high-ratio shortenings, have relatively simple structures.
mono; diglycerides
Monoglyceirdes have one fatty acid attached to _______.
glycerol
The fatty acids part of the molecule is attracted to what?
Fats and oils, while the rest of the molecule is attracted to water.
Stronger and more flexible proteins in cake batters hold _____ exceptionally well.
air
Emulsifiers interact with starch molecules, preventing them from what?
Retrograding or bonding with one another, which is the primary cause of staling. This translates to better textured baked goods.
Can emulsifiers be purchased separately and added with fats to batters and doughs?
Yes, but it is not common for pastry chefs and bakers to do so.
Main source of emulsifiers in the bakeshop.
- Dough conditioners used in yeast-raised doughs
- High-ratio shortenings
- Dairy ingredients and egg yolks, which naturally contain complex mixtures of emulsifiers, lecithin being the best known
Fats, oils and emulsifiers tenderize by ________ structure builders and preventing them from _______ and forming structure.
coating; hydrating
A tender product is easy to what?
Break, chew, squeeze, or crumble because it lacks a strong structure.
Do tenderizers and structure builders have to be balanced?
Yes
Another name for tenderness is what? Why?
Shortness, because lipids literally shorten gluten strands by coating them.
What product is named for its ability to shorten?
AP Shortening
Do all lipids provide shortness to the same degree?
No
Why are butter and margarine less effective at tenderizing than shortening and lard?
Butter and margarine only have 80% fat and contain water. Shortening and lard contain 100% fat. However, adjusting a formula to account for this difference can make it just as effective.
Do softer and more fluid fat mix into batters and coat flour particles and egg proteins better than harder fats?
Yes, the softer or more fluid a fat, the better it tenderizes. This explains why pie crust made with olive oil is short and mealy. It also explains why plastic fats that are creamed first tenderize better than those that don’t. Finally, it explains why very hard cocoa butter in chocolate does little to tenderize baked goods.
Why is French pie crust–pate brisee–so short and mealy?
The amount of flour worked in before water is added.
What is fraisage?
A process where fat and flour are kneaded with the heel of the hand until they are thoroughly blended.
Are emulsifiers effective at providing tenderness? How?
Yes, they help fats and oils disperse throughout baked goods and emulsifiers themselves are extremely effective at coating structure builders.
Can the amount of fat in baked goods be reduced when emulsifiers are added?
Yes, check the label on low fat baked goods and you will see that many are high in emulsifiers, such as mono- and diglycerides.
The more leavening provided by the fat or oil, the more it tenderizes. Why is this?
Leavening stretches and thins cell walls, weakening them. This is why oil might excel at tenderizing pie pastry, but it actually might toughen cake.
The shortening or tenderizing abilities of lipids depend on the following:
The amount present; the more fat, oil, or emulsifiers, the more tenderizing.
How soft and fluid it it; the more soft and fluid the fat, the more tenderizing.
Piece size; the smaller the piece size of the fat (from mixing), the more tenderizing.
The presence of emulsifiers, such as mono- and diglycerides.
The ability of the fat, oil, or emulsifier to leaven.
Flakiness refers to what?
A number of layers in a baked laminated product.
Flakiness requires what of fat?
Flattened chunks of plastic fat separate bits of dough.
What happens to plastic fat in flakey pastries when oven is heated? What does this do to layers?
Fat melts, while structure in the layers solidifies. This leaves distinct layers or baked dough. The more layers, and more distinct the layers, the flakier the pastry.
To keep layers of flakey pastry distinct, fat must be kept what?
Large
To ensure large chunks of fat, some chefs like to use what? Why?
Their fingertips instead of mixers to work fat into flour because mixers can quickly overland fat with flour.
Flakiness can be at odds with tenderness, which is greatest with ______ pieces of fat.
small
If solid fat melts too early in the baking process, layers will not what? What happens next?
They won’t form. Instead, the melted fat seeps into the dough, tenderizing it.
Why is pie or laminated dough made with butter not chilled before baking?
So the fat doesn’t melt too quickly. This is why fats with higher melting points produce flakier pastries.
The ability of lipids to provide flakiness depends on what?
How solid it is; the more solid the fat and higher its melting point, the more flakiness.
Piece size; the larger the pice size of the fat, the more flakiness.
Is the perfect piecrust both tender and flakey?
Yes
How do you ensure pie crust is also tender?
You can’t use piece size so protein content must be low, amount of flour dusted on bench is low, minimum amounts of water, don’t overwork once water is added. Chill dough for several hours or overnight to allow water to passively migrate.
Are fats leaveners?
No, but the air and steam (water) trapped inside are so fats play an important role.
Fats assist in leavening in these three ways.
Incorporation of air in during the creaming of plastic fats, by the air and water already present in certain plastic fats, through the assistance of emulsifiers in high ratio shortenings.
How does creaming of plastic fats assist in leavening?
Tiny air cells are incorporated into fat.
What pastries rely on creaming for leavening?
Cookies and cakes, even when baking powder is added.
How does entrapped air in plastic fats help leavening?
Plastic fats contain air, even when not creamed. Butter and margarine contain water.
What does puff pastry rely of for leavening?
Entrapped air and water in plastic fats.
High melting point fats tend to leave what?
Waxy mouthfeel
How do emulsifiers in high ratio shortenings help leaven?
To assist proteins in batters in trapping and holding air as they are mixed.
What product relies on emulsifiers for leavening?
High ratio liquid shortening cakes.
Why is moistness a characteristic of all fluid ingredients?
Because moistness is the sensation of something being liquid.
Do bother moisture (water) and liquid oil provide moistness?
Yes
Is there a distinction between moistness and moisture? Explain using oil and butter.
Yes, liquid oil provides moistness but not moisture. Butter, which contains moisture, usually contributes less moistness than oil usually does.
Is moistness the same as tenderness? Explain.
No, but the two can be related. Often, anything moist is also tender. However, chewy foods are moist but not tender, and crisp crumbly cookies are tender without being moist.
Do all fats contribute significantly to moistness?
No, only those, like oil, that are fluid at body temperature do.
Do emulsifiers also contribute to moistness?
Yes
Do fats often contribute more moistness to baked goods than water? Why?
Interestingly enough, yes. This is because much of the water in baked goods is either driven off or becomes tightly bound to proteins and starches.
The moistening ability of lipids depends on what?
How fluid it is; the more fluid the fat at body temp, the more moistening.
The presence of emulsifiers, such as mono- and diglycerides.
Lipids, especially emulsifiers such as mono- and diglycerides in high ratio shortenings. interfere with the process of what?
Retrogradation of gelatinized starch.
How do emulsifiers, such as mono- and diglycerides, prevent staling?
Prevent starch granules from gelatinizing in the first place. Lipids prevent the hard, dry, crumbly texture and loss of flavor associated with staling.
Besides butter, what other fats contribute a distinctive flavor?
Lard, olive oil, and margarine.
Do neutral fats also add flavor?
Yes, because all fats add a certain richness.
What does desirable fried flavor come from?
The breakdown of fats and oils exposed to high heat.
What fats contribute to color in baked goods? How?
Butter and margarine provide a golden-yellow color and fats that contain milk solids–butter and certain margarines–undergo Maillard browning on the surface.
Why do baked goods that are higher in fat contribute to more color on baked goods than low fat ones?
All fats increase the rate of heating of baked goods, and in doing so allow for faster browning.
Do plastic fats and emulsifiers provide a finer crumb in baked goods?
Yes
Many sauces, confections, and frozen desserts are emulsions of what?
Emulsions of liquid fat droplets in milk or another liquid.
How are droplets of liquid fat perceived by the tongue?
The very tiny balls that roll over the tongue are perceived as rich and creamy.
Do fats and oils conduct heat?
Yes, from the oven, frying pan, or fryer directly to food.
Can fats and oils be heated to a higher temp than water before breaking down? Temps?
Yes, water is 212ºF (100ºC) while fats and oils are 350ºF (177ºC)
The high heat of oil allows for the formation of what?
Dry, crisp, brown crust in deep-fried foods and often in baking.
Do solid fat crystals provide bulk and substance to icings, fillings, and certain other products? Explain to understand.
Yes, consider that icings contain anywhere from 30 to 50% solid fat. Without it, icings would consist of loose sugar crystals, or crystals dissolved or suspended in egg white or another liquid.
Are fats considered structure builders on baked goods? What about icings?
No, but in icings and other products that contain solid fat, the solid crystals do provide substance. This substance defines the shape of these products. In a sense, it does provide a solid structure.
Do fats, oils and emulsifiers provide a smoothness in confections?
Yes, they interfere with sugar crystallization.
Do fats and oils blend flavors and mask off flavors?
Yes, when removed from baked goods, flavors become disjointed and don’t taste rich or full flavored.
Why does fat affect the taste perception?
Probably because many flavors dissolve in them.
Do fats and lipids acts as a release agent?
Yes
Do fats and lipids increases extensibility and softness of doughs? How? When is this advantageous?
Yes. Lipids lubricate gluten strands, making them softer, stretchier, and less likely to break. Advantageous during yeast fermentation since it allows for higher volume.
What emulsifiers are used for this purpose?
Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate and DATEM. You will often see one or both emulsifiers in dough conditioners for use in yeast doughs.
Do waters and moisteners also provide a certain amount of softness to doughs?
Yes
When the amount of lipids added to a batter or dough is increased, often the amount of _______ and other moisteners must be reduces, to maintain proper consistency. The opposite is also true.
water
Fats, oils, and emulsifiers–especially _____–coat and lubricate solid particles in melted chocolate covertures and coatings, allowing particles to slide past each other more easily. This ____ the consistency of the coating.
lecithin; thins
Pastry chefs use what to thin out chocolate covertures? Why? Can other fats be used?
Cocoa butter because of its pleasing mouthfeel. Butter and other fats can be used, but chocolate will not harden as well and, when cooled, will have less snap.
To reduce excessive spread in cookies before baking, what can you do?
Be sure dough is well-chilled and sheet pans aren’t warm.
What is the only fat substitute that can be used in frying?
Olestra
Can you replace fat completely with substitutes?
No, it is very hard. You won’t get the same product.
Is it the amount of fat in a product that makes it unhealthy?
No, just the specific types of fats used.
Fat replacers: Butter
Natural and artificial butter flavoring
Fat replacers: emulsifiers
Mono- and diglycerides
Fat replacers: certain fruits
Prune paste, applesauce
Fat replacers: gums
pectin, cellulose gume
Fat replacers: Non-digestible lipids
olestra
Fat replacers: oat-based ingredients
oatmeal, oat flour
Fat replacers: starches and starch by-products
potato starch, maltodextrins
Fat replacers: sugars and sweeteners
dextrose, granulated sugar
Sugar and sweeteners provide what two important functions of fat?
Tenderizing and moistening.
Applesauce and prune paste provide what?
Sugars, sorbitol, and fruit pulp that moistens and tenderizes. They provide varying degrees of success.
Two properties of fats that must be protected during storage.
Flavor and texture (plasticity).
Fats and oils develop off flavors primarily from what three sources?
Oxidative rancidity, which occurs with exposure to heat, light, air, and metal catalysts.
Bacterial spoilage, which occurs only in butter and those margarines that contain milk solids.
Absorption of odors from the bakeshop.
The more unsaturated a fatty acid, the faster it will oxidize?
True
It is acceptable the store fats and oils in a cool, dry place, but butter must be stored at _____ºF (4ºC) or below.
40
Does melting change the crystalline structure of fats?
Yes, altering their texture and ability to cream. It also reduces the amount of air in fat, lowering its ability to assist in leavening.
