Effect of stabilizers on stabilization of idli (traditional south Indian food)

batter during storage

P. Nisha, Laxmi Ananthanarayan
*
, Rekha S. Singhal
Department of Food and Fermentation Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai, Matunga, Mumbai 400 019, India
Received 10 September 2003; revised 10 November 2003; accepted 5 March 2004
Abstract
Idli, a steam cooked traditional fermented Indian food prepared from a wet ground mixture of rice and black gram dhal, is famous for its
soft, spongy texture, desirable sour taste and characteristic aroma. A commonly observed phenomenon with idli batter is whey separation that
occurs due to collapse in its volume after a certain period of fermentation, and which increases with storage. Idlis made from such batter give
a very hard texture. The present work aims at stabilization of the idli batter at room temperature (2830 8C) and refrigerated storage (48 8C)
by using various hydrocolloids and some surface-active agents. The batter was evaluated in terms of % decrease in volume, and % whey
separation. While hydrocolloids gave good stabilization, surface-active agents failed to stabilize the batter although they reduced whey
separation. Among the various hydrocolloids, 0.1% guar gave best batter stabilization, and idlis made therefrom after 10 days of room
temperature and 30 days of refrigerated storage of batter were found to be of acceptable quality.
q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Stabilization; Idli batter; Hydrocolloids; Surface-active agents
1. Introduction
Idli, is a popular steam cooked traditional Indian food
prepared from a wet ground fermented batter of rice and
black gram dhal (in the ratio of 3:1) by steaming in a mold. It
is famous for its soft, spongy texture, desirable sour taste and
characteristic aroma. It resembles a steamed, sour dough
bread (Steinkraus, veen Van, & Tiebeau, 1967). Idli has a
circular shape of approximately 710 cm diameter (depend-
ing on the mold size), at with convex lower and upper
surface, so that the product is thick at the center (23 cm) and
tapering towards periphery. Being a cereal-legume based
fermented product, it has an improved nutritive value as
evident from the higher PER and increased essential amino
acid and vitamin contents (Desikacharr et al., 1960). Idli
preparation in the conventional manner takes at least 18 h.
Although instant idli pre-mixes are available, these do not
possess the characteristic texture and also lack the typical
fermented aroma. Idlis prepared in different households do
not have consistent quality. Hence, ready-to-cook and eat
formof these foods would be popular in the domestic market,
as well as with Indian expatriates.
A ready-to-cook batter nds wide acceptability in many
parts of India, where it is sold at retail outlets. However,
these batters have not been preserved and stabilized, and
also have a poor shelf life. Very often the batters are not
refrigerated during storage or distribution. As a result the
quality and safety of such batters is questionable.
Idli fermentation is a mixed auto fermentation; organ-
isms present in the ingredients as well as the environment
determine the nature of microora involved (Desikacharr
et al., 1960). Black gram is the main ingredient responsible
for the characteristic texture of idli. The surface-active
proteins and polysaccharides of black gram are well
conditioned to retain a large volume of gases to give soft
and uffy texture (Susheelamma & Rao, 1978). It is
observed that, after a certain period of fermentation the
batter starts collapsing, and with further days of storage,
there is whey separation, resulting in idlis with a very hard
texture. In refrigerated storage, the batter without stabiliz-
ation or preservatives has a limited shelf life of few days
after which there is collapse in batter volume causing whey
separation and consequently very hard idlis.
Earlier work (unpublished) done by authors on preser-
vation of idli batter found a combination of 7.5 ppm nisin
and 2000 ppm potassium sorbate to give good quality idlis
0268-005X/$ - see front matter q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2004.03.007
Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186
www.elsevier.com/locate/foodhyd
* Corresponding author. Fax: 91-22-2414-5614.
E-mail address: laxmi@udct.org (L. Ananthanarayan).
after 10 days storage of batter at room temperature
(2830 8C) and 30 days at refrigerated (48 8C) storage.
The problem of batter collapse and whey separation
persisted during storage. Idli batter is a foam in which gas
molecules are entrapped in a solidliquid phase. The
surface-active roteins from black gram act as surface-active
agent and the polysaccharide acts as stabilizing agent. The
surface-active agent is found to be the protein globulin, and
is responsible for the soft and porous texture of idli. Foams
are colloidal systems in which tiny air bubbles are dispersed
in continuous phase. Due to the air water interface, which
is a high-energy interface, foam collapses. Surface-active
agents can reduce the interfacial tension, which facilitate the
gaswater interface system. Sodium stearoyl lactylate
(SSL), lecithin and sorbitan monostearate are examples of
low molecular weight surface-active agents, while gums and
protein belong to high molecular weight surface-active
agents. Milk proteins such as whey proteins and casein can
act as good surface-active agents, because protein in
addition to lowering the interfacial tension can form a
continuous viscoelastic lm (Damodaran & Paraf, 1997).
The polysaccharide in black gram is characterized as
arabinogalactan, which stabilizes the soft porous texture of
idli. The arabinogalactan and guar gum are speculated to
have similarity in their primary structure (Susheelamma &
Rao, 1978). The stabilization of foam is very important with
respect to idli texture. An important way to stabilize the
foam is through the formation of a rigid system by means of
crystallization, denaturation or gelatinization of the con-
tinuous phase. Hydrocolloids are very effective functional
agents in making stable foam products. They act as
whipping agents to permit aeration and formation of foam,
and then act to stabilize the interfacial lm and thus prevent
the leakage of air and collapse of the structure (Glicksman,
1986a). Addition of 0.1% pre-swollen xanthan to instant idli
batter is known to give desirable idli texture (Thakur,
Prasad, & Rastogi, 1995).
The objective of the present study was to stabilize the idli
batter at room temperature (2830 8C) and refrigerated
storage (48 8C), using various hydrocolloids and some
surface-active agents.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Parboiled rice and black gram dhal were procured from
local market. Nisaplin brand Nisin with an activity of
1 10
6
IU was obtained from M/S Aplin and Barret Ltd,
London, UK. Potassium-sorbate was obtained from S. D.
Fine Chemicals, Mumbai, India. Xanthan, agar, SSL and
carrageenan were purchased from Himedia, Mumbai, India.
Guar gum and pectin (high methoxypectin, degree of
esterication, 6670%) were supplied by Indian gum
industries, and Carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC, 7HF) was
obtained from Aqualon, London, UK. Methyl cellulose
(MC, METHOCEL,E461 A4M) was obtained from Dow
Chemical Company, USA. Rice our was procured from
local market and gelatinized by cooking. Maltodextrin and
sodium caseinate were obtained from Drytech, Mumbai,
India. Whey protein was gifted by Mahan Proteins,
New Delhi, India.
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Addition of stabilizers
Each stabilizer was added at two levels. The stabilizers
used in the study were xanthan (0.01 and 0.05%W), agar
(0.1 and 0.2%W), carrageenan (0.2 and 0.5%W), guar gum
(0.1 and 0.2%W), pre-gelatinized starch (5.0 and 10.0%W),
pectin (0.1 and 0.5%W), maltodextrin (5.0 and 10.0%W),
carboxymethyl cellulose (0.2 and 0.5%W), methyl cellulose
(0.5 and 1.0%W), whey protein (2.0 and 5.0%W), sodium
caseinate (2.0 and 5.0%W), SSL (0.1 and 0.2%W). The
level of addition of each additive was decided on the basis of
their level of usage in different foods and also considering
their regulatory status.
The stabilizers were incorporated in the batter before
fermentation. Weighed amount of the stabilizer was mixed
in a small amount of water and solubilized according to its
solubility pattern (Glicksman, 1986b,c). The stabilizer
solution was mixed well with the freshly ground batter
and homogenized with a hand mixer to distribute the
stabilizer uniformly in the batter.
2.2.2. Viscosity of batter
The viscosity of batter after the addition of the
stabilization agents was measured using Brookfeild DV III
Rheometer at 100 rpm using LV-4 (64) spindle.
2.2.3. Storage studies of batter
Batter with stabilizing agents was kept for fermentation
for 12 h at 2830 8C, after which, 7.5 ppm of nisin and
2000 ppm of potassium sorbate were thoroughly mixed with
a very small quantity of batter. This batter was then added
back to the remaining batter and mixed well without
disturbing the foamed batter. The batter was portioned and
kept for storage studies at room temperature and refrigerated
storage. For room temperature (2830 8C) and refrigerated
(48 8C) studies, 40 ml of fermented batter was kept in
50 ml test tubes and sealed with aluminium foil. The batter
was studied at the end of 10 days of room temperature
storage. For refrigerated storage studies samples were kept
for 30 days and at the end of 10, 20 and 30 days samples
were withdrawn and evaluated. In each case both the batter
as well as idlis prepared from the batter were evaluated by
the methods given bellow.
2.2.4. Evaluation of batter
2.2.4.1. Evaluation of decrease in volume. For % decrease in
volume, the batter was placed in a measuring cylinder.
P. Nisha et al. / Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186 180
The initial and nal batter volume was noted and the %
decrease in volume is calculated as:
% decrease in volume

Initial volume 2Final volume

Initial volume
100
2.2.4.2. Evaluation of whey separation. The stored batter
samples were observed for whey separation by removing the
separated whey in a measuring cylinder. Noting its volume
% whey separation was evaluated as:
% whey separation
Volume of whey separated
Initial volume of the batter
100
2.2.5. Evaluation of idli
Idlis made from the batters stabilized by the addition of
different stabilizers and stored at different temperatures for
different periods of time were evaluated for the following
parameters.
2.2.5.1. Bulk density. Bulk density was measured by seed
displacement method using mustard seeds as in the case of
bread (g/cc)
2.2.5.2. Texture. Idli has a circular shape of approximately
710 cm diameter (depending on the mold size), at with
lower and upper surface bulging, so that the product is thick
at the center (23 cm) and tapering towards periphery.
Texture of the idlis was analysed on Stevens-LFRA Texture
Analyser. The cut test was conducted in the centre were the
average thickness is ,23 cm using knife probe (TA-8) in
the normal mode at 2 mm/s up to a depth of 10 mm. Texture
was expressed as the load in grams required to cut the
product.
2.2.5.3. Colour. Colour of the idlis was measured using
Hunter Lab Colorimeter model DP-9000 D25A (Hunter
associates laboratory, Reston, VA, USA), in terms of Hunter
L (lightness, ranging 0100 indicating black to white), a
(a; redness and 2a; greenness) and b (b; yellowness and
2b; blueness).
2.2.5.4. Acceptability of idlis. Acceptability of idlis made
from the stored batter stabilized by addition of different
stabilizers and stored at different temperatures for different
periods of time was determined by sensory evaluation using
10-member panel on a 10-point hedonic scale as follows:
very good 810, good 58, fair 35, poor 13.
Table 1
The effect of addition of various additives to idli batters on viscosity, batter volume and whey separation
Stabilizer Level of
addition (%)
Viscosity
a
(cPs) % Decrease in batter volume % Whey separation
Storage at
2830 8C
Storage at
48 8C
Storage at
2830 8C
Storage at
48 8C
Xanthan 0.01 8900 ^ 25 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.05 9650 ^ 30 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Agar 0.10 8500 ^ 15 18.0 0.0 4.0 0.0
0.20 8950 ^ 20 10.0 0.0 3.0 0.0
Carrageenan 0.20 8700 ^ 15 12.0 0.0 3.0 0.0
0.50 9500 ^ 34 7.0 0.0 2.0 0.0
Guar gum 0.10 8990 ^ 35 10.0 0.0 0.0 4.0
0.20 9890 ^ 18 6.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
Pre-gelatinized 5.00 8775 ^ 42 15.0 12.0 3.0 0.0
Starch 10.0 9590 ^ 30 8.5 10.0 0.0 0.0
Pectin 0.10 10,040 ^ 20 0.0 0.0 6.0 14.0
0.50 11,200 ^ 25 0.0 0.0 3.0 8.0
Methyl cellulose 0.5 8750 ^ 18 8.0 12.0 10.0 12.0
1.0 9500 ^ 29 5.0 8.0 8.0 7.0
CMC 0.2 8500 ^ 33 10.0 10.0 6.0 3.0
0.5 9000 ^ 24 6.0 6.0 7.0 10.0
Maltodextrin 5.0 8500 ^ 14 12.0 16.0 6.0 3.0
10.0 6300 ^ 17 14.0 17.0 10.0 7.0
Whey protein 2.0 4500 ^ 25 16.0 14.0 14.0 9.0
5.0 6300 ^ 35 16.0 12.0 10.0 4.0
Sodium caseinate 2.0 4350 ^ 40 15.0 10.0 9.0 8.0
5.0 6600 ^ 45 10.0 4.0 3.0 3.0
SSL 0.1 5100 ^ 20 12.0 9.0 4.0 12.0
0.2 4700 ^ 32 10.0 8.0 4.0 5.0
Control 8100 ^ 41 26.0 18.0 15.0 15.0
Measured just after the addition of the additives, before fermentation. Measured after 10 days of room temperature storage (2830 8C) and 30 days of
refrigerated storage (48 8C) and the standard error values were less than 0.5.
a
Values are mean ^ SD of three determinations.
P. Nisha et al. / Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186 181
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents on the viscosity of idli batter
Table 1 gives the viscosity of the batter after the addition
of hydrocolloids and surface-active agents at the concen-
trations indicated. The viscosity of the batter containing
hydrocolloids increased while that containing surface-active
agents such as SSL, whey protein and Na-caseinate
decreased. Idli batter is a complex system containing three
phasesgas, liquid and solid. In such complex systems
viscosity depends on a number of factors such as the nature
of substances present in liquid phase, the effect of additive
on interfacial tension. The behaviour of SSL, whey protein
and sodium caseinate may be due to their surface-active
properties.
3.2. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents on the % decrease in batter volume of idli batter
during storage
As compared to control batter with no stabilizers, the
batter with stabilizers showed lesser decrease in volume on
storage at both refrigerated and room temperature (Table 1).
Some stabilizers such as xanthan, agar, carrageenan, guar
gum, pectin and pre-gelatinized starch were very effective in
maintaining batter volume during storage. MC, CMC, SSL
and sodium caseinate stabilized the batter partially while
whey protein and maltodextrin were ineffective. The
stabilizers were more effective at refrigerated temperature
than at room temperature. At room temperature also, the
hydrocolloids were better than the surface-active agents.
Substances that increased the batter viscosity also stabilized
the batter during storage.
3.3. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents on whey separation during storage
Whey separation, showed a similar trend as batter
collapse (Table 1). All the stabilizers were effective in
reducing whey separation compared to the control. The ones
that were good in stabilizing batter volume completely
eliminated whey separation. Maltodextrin, which was
less effective in stabilizing batter volume comparatively,
showed an improved performance in reducing whey
separation. At room temperature storage the % whey
separation was high compared to that of refrigerated storage.
Table 2
Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active agents to idli batter stored room temperature (28308C) and refrigerated storage (488C) on the bulk
density (g/cc) of idli
Stabilizer Level of addition (%) Refrigerated storage Room temperature storage
10 days 20 days 30 days 10 days
Xanthan 0.01 1.001 0.942 0.999 1.008
0.05 0.846 0.862 0.891 0.903
Agar 0.10 0.630 0.629 0.640 0.657
0.20 0.654 0.601 0.645 0.651
Carrageenan 0.20 0.622 0.631 0.650 0.630
0.50 0.62 0.635 0.657 0.629
Guar gum 0.10 0.612 0.608 0.64 0.681
0.20 0.626 0.612 0.641 0.666
Pre-gelatinized starch 5.00 0.621 0.68 0.728 0.914
10.0 0.67 0.701 0.674 0.702
Pectin 0.10 0.859 0.859 0.806 0.912
0.50 0.719 0.748 0.921 0.728
Methyl cellulose 0.5 0.934 0.998 1.085 1.125
1.0 0.893 0.882 0.984 1.004
CMC 0.2 0.750 0.889 0.991 0.889
0.5 0.66 0.893 1.004 0.89
Maltodextrin 5.0 0.821 0.84 1.002 0.723
10.0 0.881 0.876 1.101 0.689
Whey protein 2.0 0.821 0.801 0.845 0.791
5.0 0.702 0.891 0.919 0.802
Sodium caseinate 2.0 0.702 0.684 0.889 0.753
5.0 0.656 0.691 0.891 0.782
SSL 0.1 0.792 0.848 0.984 0.799
0.2 0.687 0.791 0.887 0.812
Control
a
0.938 1.097 1.100 0.849
The standard error values were less than 0.025.
a
The bulk density of fresh idli was 0.5998 ^ 0.015.
P. Nisha et al. / Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186 182
At room temperature the same trend was obtained in per-
formance of the stabilizers with respect to whey separation.
The hydrocolloids are known to stabilize foam by
increasing the viscosity of the continuous phase of the
foam (Glicksman, 1986a). Hydrocolloids increase the
viscosity of batter by a combination effect of increasing
the viscosity of the aqueous medium and facilitating the
retention of foam. Surface-active agents on the other hand
function only by their ability to stabilize foam. This is in
agreement with the results obtained from Table 1.
Maltodextrin was found to decrease the viscosity of the
batter (Table 1) and was, therefore, not successful in
preventing batter collapse, however, probably due to its
surface-active properties, it was effective in reducing whey
separation (Alexander, 1992).
3.4. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents in stored idli batter on the bulk density of idli
Though the added stabilizers may help in preventing the
batter collapse and whey separation on storage, these
stabilizers may adversely affect the texture and acceptability
of idlis. The effect of various stabilizers added to idli batter
stored at room temperature (2830 8C) and refrigerated
temperature (48 8C) on the bulk densities (g/cc) of idlis is
given in Table 2. In most cases the bulk densities of idlis
with stabilizers were lesser than that of the control.
Batters stored at refrigerated temperature gave idlis with
better porosity than those of room temperature storage.
Agar, carrageenan and guar gum gave good idlis with
acceptable range of bulk density (,0.65) when prepared
from idli batter stored under refrigeration. At room
temperature as well as at refrigerated temperature pre-
gelatinized starch, pectin, SSL, Na-caseinate and whey
proteins gave medium bulk densities while the remaining
gave high bulk density suggesting a more compact structure.
Bulk densities of idlis prepared from batter stored at room
temperature as well as refrigerated temperature were found
to increase with tome of storage.
The performance of agar, carrageenan and guar gum can
be attributed to their ability to prevent batter collapse and
whey separation. Amongst these, xanthan gave higher bulk
density as compared to carrageenan and guar gum.
3.5. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents in stored idli batter on the texture of idli
Table 3 shows the effect of added stabilizers on the
texture (load, g) of idlis The texture value for fresh idli is
301 ^ 8 g. The acceptable range of texture value is in
Table 3
Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active agents to idli batter stored room temperature and refrigerated storage on the texture (load, g) of idli
Stabilizer Level of addition (%) Refrigerated storage (48 8C) Room temperature storage (2830 8C)
10 days 20 days 30 days 10 days
Xanthan 0.01 862 827 788 989
0.05 777 682 680 722
Agar 0.10 401 426 581 623
0.20 388 398 526 511
Carrageenan 0.20 449 486 486 480
0.50 430 492 516 478
Guar gum 0.10 405 489 500 628
0.20 351 425 484 503
Pre-gelatinized 5.00 456 485 682 401
Starch 10.0 473 508 710 423
Pectin 0.10 629 729 912 624
0.50 484 489 684 586
Methyl cellulose 0.5 604 786 952 824
1.0 354 598 700 728
CMC 0.2 334 465 550 811
0.5 328 420 421 623
Maltodextrin 5.0 441 486 582 723
10.0 408 421 580 689
Whey protein 2.0 771 784 921 592
5.0 682 648 888 512
Sodium caseinate 2.0 500 520 692 612
5.0 461 532 721 504
SSL 0.1 436 488 621 678
0.2 457 481 889 692
Control
a
728 898 922 745
The standard error values were less than 15.
a
The texturimeter reading for fresh idli was 301 ^ 8 load in g.
P. Nisha et al. / Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186 183
the range of 250500 g. The idli will be very soft and soggy
below a texturimeter reading of 250 g, and will be very hard
and compact for a load values above 500 g. Compared to
the control, agar, carrageenan, guar gum and pre-gelatinized
starch gave idlis with acceptable range of softness.
This further conrms the observations from the data on
bulk density. Maltodextrin, CMC, SSL gave idlis with
intermediate softness, whereas xanthan, pectin, MC,
whey protein and sodium caseinate gave somewhat harder
idlis.
3.6. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents in stored idli batter on visual colour of idli
The colour was measured in terms of Hunter L (lightness
ranging from 0 to 100 indicating black to white), a (a;
redness and 2a greenness) and b (b; yellowness and 2b;
blueness). The maximum value for lightness is 100
indicating white. Therefore decrease in L value indicates a
decrease in whiteness of the product prepared from the
stored batter. In the same way, an increase in the Hunter b
value indicates that there is an increase in yellowness in the
product made from stored batter.
The colour of the idlis (Hunter L; a and b) is given in
Table 4. The L and b values for fresh control was 83.4 and
10.12, respectively. The acceptable range of Hunter L value
of the product is 75 and above, and that of b values is below
13. This correlates with the sensory evaluation as given in
Table 5.
Idli batter after 10 days storage at room temperature
containing xanthan, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, pectin,
maltodextrin, CMC and SSL as stabilizers gave whiter idlis,
as seen from the range of L values from 77 and above. The
10 days old control gave L (lightness) value of 70.98. Whey
protein, Na-caseinate, MC and pre gelatinized starch gave
lower values of L indicating lesser degree of whiteness.
It is observed from Table 4 that during storage Hunter b
value increases, which indicates that there is an increase in
yellowness in the product during storage. In the same way
the Hunter b value, which indicates the yellowness, was less
for xanthan, agar, carrageenan, guar, pectin, maltodextrin,
CMC and SSL. For others the b values are slightly higher
which indicate higher degree of yellowness.
Batters with stabilizers subjected to refrigerated storage,
after 30 days showed a similar trend. Compared to room
temperature storage, under refrigerated conditions some of
Table 4
Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active agents to idlibatter stored at room temperature and refrigerated storage on the colour evaluated as Hunter
L; a and b
Stabilizer Level of addition (%) Room temperature Refrigerated storage
L a b L a b
Xantahan 0.01 75.4 22.2 12.8 74.5 21.5 12.1
0.05 76.0 22.5 13.4 75.0 21.52 12.8
Agar 0.10 76.1 21.8 12.1 75.2 21.50 12.5
0.20 75.9 22.1 12.8 74.5 21.66 12.8
Carrageenan 0.20 78.0 21.9 11.8 76.8 21.40 12.4
0.50 77.0 22.4 12.0 76.0 21.52 12.4
Guar gum 0.10 78.0 22.1 12.1 77.5 21.40 12.2
0.20 76.4 22.2 12.4 76.1 21.46 12.1
Pre-gelatinized Starch 5.00 74.2 21.7 13.8 77.1 21.38 12.0
10.0 73.0 21.7 13.8 77.0 21.43 12.4
Pectin 0.10 77.1 22.3 12.7 76.4 21.60 12.9
0.50 77.0 22.5 12.6 74.8 21.58 13.1
Maltodextrin 5.0 76.5 21.8 12.4 77.4 21.30 12.3
10.0 76.1 22.0 12.9 75.0 21.38 12.8
CMC 0.2 77.4 21.8 12.6 76.0 21.40 12.5
0.5 76.0 21.9 12.7 74.5 21.40 12.8
Methyl cellulose 0.5 73.0 21.9 12.4 75.6 21.55 12.8
1.0 71.2 22.2 12.8 75.3 21.54 13.2
Whey protein 2.0 72.1 22.5 13.8 74.0 21.80 14.0
5.0 71.0 22.7 14.4 72.0 21.80 14.8
Sodium caseinate 2.0 72.4 22.4 14.5 70.1 21.70 13.8
5.0 69.0 22.8 14.8 70.2 21.78 14.4
SSL 0.1 76.8 22.0 12.4 77.4 21.50 12.2
0.2 76.4 22.0 12..5 77.4 21.52 12.8
Control 69.8 21.2 13.4 73.1 21.52 11.9
The standard error values were less than 0.05. Measured after 10 days of room temperature storage (2830 8C) and 30 days of refrigerated storage (4
8 8C). Initial L; a and b values were 83.4, 10.12 and 21.48, respectively.
P. Nisha et al. / Food Hydrocolloids 19 (2005) 179186 184
the stabilizers (whey protein, Na-caseinate, MC, SSL and
pre gelatinized starch) gave values for whiteness and
yellowness in the acceptable range. Even after 30 days of
storage xanthan, agar, carrageenan, guar gum, MC, CMC,
SSL, pectin, pre-gelatinized starch and maltodextrin gave an
L value between 75 and 78.
3.7. Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active
agents in stored idli batter on the acceptability of idli
The sensory analysis of idlis made from stored batter
stabilized with different stabilizers was done on a 10-point
hedonic scale and graded as very good (points 810),
good (points 58), fair (points 35) and poor (points 1
3) and is given in Table 5. Agar and guar gum gave good
idlis in terms of mouth feel and texture, when prepared
from batter stored at room temperature and refrigerated
temperature. Pre-gelatinized starch and carrageenan gave
fair quality idlis from batters stored at refrigerated
temperature, while the others gave very poor idlis in
terms of acceptability.
From the above discussions it is concluded that guar gum
at 0.1% stabilized the idli batter for 10 days at room
temperature and 30 days at refrigerated storage and gave
good idlis as evaluated from bulk density, texture, colour
and overall acceptability.
4. Summary
Evaluation of hydrocolloid stabilizers and surface-active
agents for stabilization of idli batter showed the latter to be
ineffective. Amongst the stabilizers, 0.1% guar gum gave
best stabilization of idli batter. Idlis of acceptable quality
could be made from such stabilized batter even after 30 days
of refrigerated storage. The performance of guar gum is
speculated to be due to the structural similarity with
arabinogalactan of black gram.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge M/S Aplin and
Barret Ltd, London, UK for supplying nisin.
References
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Table 5
Effect of addition of hydrocolloids and surface-active agents to idli batter stored at room temperature and refrigerated storage on the acceptability of idli
Stabilizer Level of addition (%) Refrigerated storage Room temperature storage
10 days 20 days 30 days 10 days
Xantahan 0.01 2.0 2.0 1.5 2.0
0.05 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
Agar 0.10 8.9 8.2 6.9 6.3
0.20 8.5 8 6.2 6.1
Carrageenan 0.20 7.0 3.4 2.9 3.0
0.50 6.5 3.1 2.2 2.4
Guar gum 0.10 7.4 6.7 5.8 4.3
0.20 6.9 6.4 5.2 5.2
Pre-gelatinized Starch 5.00 5.8 4.2 1.8 4.1
10.0 5.5 3.4 1.2 3.8
Pectin 0.10 4.8 4.2 1.5 2.2
0.50 5.7 3.5 1.5 2.5
Methyl cellulose 0.5 2 1.4 1.5 2
1.0 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.5
CMC 0.2 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5
0.5 1.3 2 1.5 1.2
Maltodextrin 5.0 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.3
10.0 1.5 1.8 1.5 1.4
Whey protein 2.0 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.4
5.0 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.4
Sodium caseinate 2.0 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.3
5.0 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3
SSL 0.1 5.6 5.5 4.2 1.5
0.2 5.5 5.3 4.0 1.4
Control 1.5 1.5 1.3 1.4
Sensory scorevery good, 810, good 58, fair 35, poor 13.
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