What is an activated cake emulsifier? “Activated cake emulsifier” is a term used by Palsgaard to describe the instant properties of the Emulpals® (for bakers mixes) and Palsgaard® SA series (for industrial use) when added to a cake batter. The activation is achieved by placing the emulsifier on the surface of very small starch granules by means of a special extrusion process (see picture above). The whipping active emulsifier is fixed to the outer surface of the starch particles during the extrusion process and has proven to be extremely stable in functionality and storage. The result is significant: One 15-kilogram carton has a surface area equal to 4 or 5 football fields. This fact is the basis for the high efficiency of Palsgaard’s activated cake emulsifiers. In June 2015, the US FDA finally took the mounting evidence to heart, finalising a determination that artificial trans fats are not generally recognised as safe, and setting a three-year time limit for their removal from all processed foods. Despite an 85% reduction already achieved by the industry over the past 10 years, mainly due to the mandatory labelling, US manufacturers are facing a potentially challenging phase-out period toward PHO-free recipes. Happily, a few countries have been hard at work on solutions for over a decade. Most notable among these is Denmark, where PHOs were banned already in 2004. In the years that followed, the southernmost Scandinavian country was able to demonstrate a remarkable improvement in cardiovascular disease mortality rates1. Denmark is also where the world’s first commercial food emulsifiers were invented by Palsgaard A/S, enabling more than 100 years of expertise to be applied to the various challenges of trans fat-free production today. From PHOs to no PHOs more sensitive to a variety of factors that were comfortably handled by partially hydrogenated oils in the past. So how can recipes be adjusted to deliver uninterrupted product quality? In the search for new sources of unsaturated fat, it doesn’t take long to realise that the road ahead for large-scale bakery production is paved with palm oil. While fully hydrogenated soy bean oil, like palm oil, doesn’t appear to have negative health consequences, and while the former is generally preferred in the US market for traditional reasons, its melting point is too high to be useful. Rapid all-around functionality Activated emulsifiers to the rescue Life without PHOs PHOs have long helped to form more stable products, support mouth-feel, and extend shelf-life. Without them, it can be more difficult to consistently produce highquality results. In fact, every part of the production process becomes So much for the choice of oil. But how can manufacturers get nonhydrogenated palm oil to perform just as well, or even better than the good old days of PHO-based recipes? For lower-fat cakes, the challenges are relatively few. For high-fat products, however, bakers can reap significant benefits by switching from shortenings to ‘activated’ cake emulsifiers. In fact, with the right combination of emulsifiers and expert assistance from the emulsifier manufacturer, a nonPHO recipe can be created with a very similar mouthfeel and texture to the PHO-containing original. Activated cake emulsifiers are a particular Palsgaard speciality and were invented by the company over 30 years ago. Unlike emulsifiers carried on shortening, activated emulsifiers are activated on starch in a highly sophisticated extrusion process, resulting in a convenient free-flowing white powder that keeps fat out of the equation. The whipping active emulsifier is fixed to the outer surface of the starch particles during the extrusion process, and a very large surface area of several square meters in a single gram is created. The effect is rapid functionality with fast uptake and incorporation of air into a cake batter for improved stability and higher quality. 2
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