Biscuits

Concern for a healthier diet has led to a decrease in the amount of fat in biscuits. However, by substantially lowering the amount of fat (25-50%) the biscuit becomes too hard. The amount of fat present is too low to form the required film-like structures that keep the sugar from agglomerating. When sucrose esters are used, the sugar part of the molecule interacts with the sugar in the biscuit, while the fatty acid part of the molecule acts as a film former. As a result, the sugar in the reduced fat biscuit remains finely divided, thus improving:

• the dough characterstics (spreading)
• and eating properties (soft texture)