Rheological properties and stability of low-in-fat dressings prepared with high-pressure homogenized yeast Original Research Article

The aim of present study was to investigate the feasibility of application high-pressure homogenized (HPH) yeast aqueous dispersions with low nucleic acid content for the formulation of low-in-fat dressings. The HPH treatment (1500 bar, 3 passes) in alkaline medium improved the protein dispersibility (>50%). Emulsions were prepared using sunflower oil (12.0% or 25% w/w oil), xhantan/guar gums (0.5% w/w), modified starch (0–4.0% w/w), salt, sucrose, acidulants, EDTA, and antimicrobial agents. All emulsions (pH 3.97 ± 0.27; aw = 0.97 ± 0.01), whatever the starch content, behaved clearly as pseudoplastic fluids in steady flow measurements. Moreover, as the frequency sweep measurements were made they also exhibited a weak gel behavior. Although the presence of starch produced an increase of mean particle size (D3,2 values), the rheological parameters (consistency index, proportionality coefficient and coordination number) also increased, so that the starch contributes to reinforce the three-dimensional network formed by oil droplets, protein aggregates and other polysaccharides. Yeast dressings were stable to coalescence after 28 days of quiescent storage (7.0 ± 0.5 °C) and only the highest starch concentration at 25% w/w oil was sufficient to maintain the stability of network.