Texturizers in gastronomy, both in restaurants and pastry shops, are now essential to ensure that the preparations we make have the desired result and are pleasant and surprising on the palate. In this article we will explain exactly what they are, where they come from and what types can be used to create the best recipes.
What are Texturizers?
But what are these products? What are they for? We understand the term texturizer to mean elements that help modify the textures of food and that are tasteless and colorless so that they cannot affect the final result of the recipe.
These must respect the organoleptic characteristics of the different ingredients they intend to modify as much as possible. The so-called food texturizing agents can be derived from numerous sources; some common sources are plants, animals and marine algae.
Currently, chefs and pastry chefs seek and investigate the best textures to play with the customer’s consumption experience and ensure that tasting a dish or dessert is not just that, but becomes a complete gastronomic experience.
These products meet some basic principles that we present below:
- Neutral flavor so as not to affect the overall recipe.
- Maximum performance in the texture you want to achieve.
What is the Origin of these Ingredients?
These ingredients began to be used in the late nineteenth century applied in the world of the food industry with the aim of improving textures. Thanks to them, the method of stabilization, conservation and creation of new textures has been a revolution.
But it has been the culinary revolution that during the last decades has developed countless techniques thanks to these ingredients; such as: airs, hot gelatins, spherifications would not have been possible without these texturizers.
Types of Texturizers in Gastronomy and Their Uses
There are different textures in both pastry and catering that we can achieve with the right products. Thanks to them, we can make the most complex elaborations. Using the products of the Sosa range, there are no limits when creating recipes.
Emulsifiers and Aerators:
Today we have a very wide range of “new” emulsifiers that, thanks to their greater efficiency and neutrality, allow us to develop one of the obsessions of modern cuisine: the purity of flavor.
Emulsifiers allow us to perform three main techniques: emulsify, aerate and texturize fats (such as increasing the melting point).
Emulsion:
An emulsion is the more or less stable union of fatty and aqueous molecules. It consists of the dispersion of a phase, divided into small drops, in another with which it is not miscible, achieving a homogeneous mixture.
An emulsion is in principle unstable, and over time the two phases separate. This is what happens, for example, when a previously stirred mixture of oil and water is left to stand. For this separation not to occur, it is necessary to incorporate an emulsifier that, in its own molecule, has a part soluble in water and another soluble in oil, located in the boundary layer between the two phases that keeps them together for longer.
The emulsion technique is of great importance in gastronomy. From a sauce to a mousse through creams, ice cream, cakes or ganache, etc.
Aeration:
What is aeration? Aeration is the action and/or physical process that consists of introducing air into a liquid or a solid through movements that allow the air to be trapped inside to increase the volume of the preparation and obtain a lighter texture.
There are some emulsifiers that have great aeration capacity, allowing techniques such as airs and foams.
For more information about the airs you can consult our post:
Texturize Fats:
There are emulsifiers that allow us to texturize fats; such as getting a fat that at room temperature (25 degrees) is liquid, becomes solid. With this increase in the melting point we get a wide range of textures and solutions.
Mounting Proteins:
Proteins are formed by long chains of amino acids. Depending on the conditions of the medium (temperature, acidity, agitation, etc.) they adopt different forms and also generate reactions such as browning when high temperatures are applied (Maillard reaction). When we make preparations that contain them, their dynamic nature allows us to create different textures.
We currently offer a variety of powdered proteins of different origins that fulfill several technical functions such as mounting, emulsifying, coagulating or aerating. In addition, we have had the ability to develop protein-based mixtures adapted to specific applications.
Thickeners:
The need to thicken has always been present in gastronomy since its inception and in all cultures, using different ingredients and techniques adapted to each geographical area. The ingredients and methods of thickening have evolved during the development of cooking and pastry, improving the techniques of obtaining cereal flours, extraction of starches, roots, etc. At Sosa we have a wide range of thickeners that adapt to each need, allowing to increase the stability of the preparations and achieving different textures without modifying the flavor, color or smell.
Gelling Agents:
Gelling agents are a group of texturizers that allow to make gelatins (gels in the strict sense). They are products that, due to their structure, have the ability to absorb water generating a three-dimensional network that converts the liquid into a solid or semi-solid.
What basically differentiates the gelling agents is:
- Origin: animal or vegetable.
- Texture: soft, hard, creamy, brittle, elastic, etc.
- Temperature: activation temperatures, gelation and melting point.
The range of gelling agents ranges from pure gelling agents to mixtures formulated to facilitate their incorporation or for specific uses:
Stabilizers:
Stabilizers developed especially for ice cream or sorbets are complex mixtures of thickeners, emulsifiers, gelling agents and aerators that provide us with perfect ice cream or sorbet textures with great ease of application. Always with the utmost respect for the flavor to be texturized.
Preservatives:
Preservatives are substances that prolong the shelf life of food by protecting it from deterioration caused by microorganisms or the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. They are applied to food to ensure its stability during its shelf life.
Bulking Agents:
Bulking agents are substances that increase the volume of a food product without significantly contributing to its available energy value. They are used for various purposes such as providing solids to a preparation to modify its structure, reduce or replace sugars and/or fats.
Among the different bulking agents, there are differences in their functionality, offering different characteristics. There are those that provide a sensation similar to fat, more or less sweet, or that allow the absorption of fats to achieve dry or crunchy textures.
Other Technical Ingredients:
There are other ingredients that help us perform different functions in our preparations. We could not categorize them as texturizers, but in a way they help the texturizing process.
Fibers:
Dietary fibers are a set of ingredients that allow to modify the texture of food. They come mainly from vegetables and have the ability to play prominent roles as bulking agents, gelling agents, thickeners and, in some cases, also exhibit emulsifying properties. In addition, some fibers have sweetening qualities.
To know much more about the fibers applied is the pastry, we invite you to download our Manual: Fibers in Pastry
Technical Sugars:
They are a set of sweeteners that have different origins and characteristics. They fulfill the function of sweetening and providing load; at the same time they allow to create crystallized textures and different caramelizations.
Technical sugars allow us to replace common sugar (sucrose) improving the organoleptic characteristics of the preparations, such as: reduce sweetness, improve conservation and texture.
Acidulants, antioxidants and acidity regulators
This range of products allows to add acidity to foods by lowering the pH. The pH of a food is the measure of acidity or alkalinity it contains. At the same time, they can fulfill functions such as prevent oxidation and increase conservation. They also help to improve the flavor profile of foods. Regulating acidity also allows to improve the characteristics of some products such as gelling agents, enhancing or reducing their gelling capacity. They are used especially in confectionery, soft drinks, juices and other beverages, dairy products, preserves and bakery.
Leavening and Effervescent Agents:
Leavening agents are those substances capable of producing or incorporating gases in the products that are to be baked in order to increase their volume and produce a certain shape and texture in their final mass.
Enzymes:
Enzymes are active proteins, naturally present in animals or plants. They have the ability to build or break molecular structures depending on the type of enzyme and the ingredient with which they come into contact. Achieving processes that could hardly be achieved with physical methods, such as the degradation of pectin, which manages to soften vegetable parts such as skins or stems that are normally discarded.
Technical Fats:
They are fats that have received a treatment where all the flavor has been removed, maintaining its structure, functionality, melting point, etc. This allows them to be used as a fat contribution in numerous applications, without influencing the flavor.
Solutions for Modern Gastronomy:
Below you can discover more than 20 videos is a list on our youtube channel that we have called: Solutions for Modern Gastronomy. In it we have selected a large part of our texturizers; each demonstration contains a dossier of the recipes in different languages. If you did not know where to start to know the texturizers: this is the list you were looking for.
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