Formulation of a virgin coconut oil based spicy spread and its physico- chemical properties

Abstract

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) fits the designation of a very important functional food and is expected to show a dramatic growth in the Indian market. This study aims to evaluate the physico- chemical characteristics of a spicy fat spread, formulated using virgin coconut oil, trans- free fat (TFF) and spice mixtures along with emulsifiers. The effect of varying the VCO: fat ratio (100:00; 30:70; 50:50; and 70:30) on the quality parameters of the spicy spread such as moisture, fat, protein, and ash were studied. The phase separation, colour characteristics, rheological quality, melting profiles by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and textural properties (spreadability) were also studied. Results show that the moisture of the spicy spreads ranged between 1.59% and 1.72%, fat 49–50%, protein 18–20%, and ash content ranged between 0.21% and 0.22%. The prepared spreads showed marginal oil separation at 25 °C (ambient) and higher amounts at 37 °C (accelerated) temperatures. The consistency or hardness measured in Newton (N) showed an increase with an increase in the amount of fat and simultaneous decrease with increased amounts of VCO. Similar trends were observed with the spicy spread's viscosity, yield stress and consistency index. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated the presence of two clusters positioned in nearby locations of the PCA biplot. The first cluster comprised of attributes like spreadability and VCO aroma while the second had glossiness and smoothness. PCA and sensory analysis results showed that sample containing virgin coconut oil and TFF in equal proportions (50:50) was the most acceptable spread with respect to spreadability and overall sensory acceptability.