Obtention of esterified green banana flour with lactic acid

Resumo

The aim of this study was to produce green banana flour, modify it through esterification with lactic acid (2.5%) at 110ºC, and utilize it as a parcial substitute of fat in bakery products. It was evaluated the percentage of lactilo formation, apparent viscosity, solubility and swelling power, paste clarity, retrogradation and specific volume of the cake. The results showed that the esterification process occurred on the flour by lactic acid. It was observed an increase in the solubility index of the samples, which can be related by a higher starch hydrolysis of the flour, by lactic acid, with the increase of the heat treatment time. The addition of lactic acid to the flour, followed by drying at 50ºC or heat treatment at 110ºC caused the increase of the swelling power of the samples comparing with the native flour. In the analysis of the apparent viscosity, it was observed that the modified samples and submitted to the heat treatment, was lower than the native sample without heat treatment. In the determination of the clarity of the paste, it was detected that the samples treated with lactic acid and submitted to the heat treatment had a increase in the clarity as the increase of the heat treatment time. The evaluation of the propensity for retrogradation showed a strong water release for all the samples. In the characterization of the cakes, it was found that the green banana flour, esterified with lactic acid (2.5%) through heat treatment, allowed its application in bakery products with low fat content.