USDA Hoping To Reduce Fat in Desserts

Who doesn't occasionally like to indulge in foods, particularly desserts, that don't provide much nutritional value?  Most of us enjoy having a piece of cake at a birthday party or doughnut for breakfast every now and again.  Where we get in trouble is when we start making this a regular habit or over-indulging when we do succumb to the temptation.  While desserts and many other baked pastries taste delicious, they are often high in fat.  In fact, many desserts are so high in total and saturated fat that nearly 50% of calories come from their fat content.

Researchers at the USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research are hoping to reduce the fat in many baked goods through the development of a new food ingredient called FANTESK.  This new ingredient consists of microdroplets of trans fat-free cooking oil encapsulated in wheat flour or cornstarch.  Experiments at the USDA have shown that by using FANTESK in cake mixes, it is no longer necessary to add cooking oil.  Furthermore, the reduced-fat cakes made with FANTESK apparently have both better texture and volume.  The researchers also report that reduced-fat frosting made with FANTESK have up to 50% less fat than regular frostings.  According to an earlier article, USDA researchers have successfully made low-fat cheese as well as low-fat soft serve ice cream with the FANTESK ingredient.

Results of food science research with FANTESK look extremely promising so far, suggesting that a new ingredient for low-fat foods might soon be available.  With the current obesity problem facing the United States and many other parts of the world, ingredients that can help lower dietary fat intake are needed.  In the meantime, the well known tips below can help lower the amount of fat in many of our favorite recipes:

• Reduce the fat added to the recipe by one-third.
• Use reduced fat versions of sour cream, cheese, or yogurt when called for.
• Choose skim milk for your recipes instead of whole milk.
• Cook with olive or canola oil instead of solid fats or blended vegetable oils.
• Use fruit purees to substitute for half of the oil or butter in the recipe.
• Substitute 2 egg whites for 1 egg.

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