Traditionally, mayonnaise is an oil-in-water emulsion stabilised by a blend of hydrocolloids and starches with an oil content of more than 65%, which means that it is being viewed as a high-fat food, and as such a no go with many of today’s low fat and healthy lifestyle seeking consumers.
Looking at the number of new product launches of mayonnaises with a lower fat content it is however, safe to say that the market for low-fat or reduced-fat mayonnaises is continuing to grow and that the tendency is moving in the direction of an increasingly lowered oil content.
Making a low-fat mayonnaise
According to European legislation, a mayonnaise product can only be claimed as being “low-fat” if it contains no more than 3 g of fat per 100 g. Equally, to claim that a product is either “light” or “fat-reduced”, the fat content must be at least 30% lower than compared to a similar full fat product.
However, to remain below the defined 3% fat limit there are a number of important factors which must each be taken into consideration: Factors such as texture, taste and colour will all be affected by the lack of oil compared to a high fat mayonnaise:
Colour
Looking at full fat mayonnaise, the colour is often white or creamy, or even yellowish if the mayonnaise contains eggs, which means that the consumer tends to expect a low-fat mayonnaise to look like this also. However, when the amount of oil in the emulsion is reduced, the colour tends to become less white and more transparent. A problem, which is easily remedied; to make it less transparent colourings can be used, e.g. titan dioxide for whiteness and beta carotene to make it more yellow. Other ingredients such as skim milk powder and egg yolk may also help to reduce the transparency.
Taste
Taste is another factor which is affected by the low oil content. Because of the high amount of water in the water phase in the mayonnaise compared to a traditional mayonnaise, a higher amount of acid is needed to lower the pH value. This can make the taste more acidic, which means that a combination of different acids such as citric acid, malic acid or different types of vinegar would be preferable. Another possibility is to add flavour to the mayonnaise.
Texture
The texture is probably the most difficult parameter to deal with when developing a low-fat mayonnaise. When the amount of oil is reduced the mayonnaise tends to become less creamy, and stickier or gelled because of the high amount of water that has to be bound by the stabilisers.
Hydrocolloids alone may result in a long sticky structure, starch alone may result in taste problems because of the high amount that has to be used, or it may result in a gelled structure. Proteins alone may result in a gelled structure and are also expensive ingredients – i.e. less cost efficient. Fibres may be a good water-binder, but they may change the appearance of the low-fat mayonnaise.
Palsgaard® 1-2-3
By combining the different water binding ingredients in the right proportions, it is possible to develop a low-fat mayonnaise with a short and creamy structure: Palsgaard® 1-2-3 has been developed especially for low-fat and fat-reduced mayonnaises and is able to deal successfully with the above parameters. Palsgaard® 1-2-3 has been tested in recipes with respectively 3, 6 and 9 % fat content:
From the recipes listed in Table 1, below it is clear that Palsgaard® 1-2-3 is used at the same dosage regardless of whether the total oil content is 3, 6 or 9 %.
