Potato starches for lowfat tortillas

Prepared Foods, April, 1997 by Nancy McCue

"This growth trend has been continuing since 1980," says Irwin Steinberg, president of the association. He attributes the growth to four factors: the continued immigration of Mexican and Central Americans into the U.S., the growth of Mexican restaurants, the acceptance of tortillas by non-Hispanics, and the healthy and easy-to-prepare nature of tortillas.

In addition, a recent Gallup poll conducted for the Wheats Foods Council indicated that four out of 10 tortilla users are utilizing tortillas for non-Mexican foods, Steinberg says.

Approximately 60% of tortilla sales are derived from foodservice establishments; 40% are driven by retail outlets, according to the association.

Lowfat Tortillas

Lowfat foods remain popular with consumers, and manufacturers are rolling out reduced-fat products in record numbers. The number of new lowfat products reached 2,076 in 1996, an increase from 1995's 1,914.

Tortilla product developers are also following suit. Modified potato starch can be used as a fat replacer in many sheeted dough systems, including tortillas, pita breads, pizza crusts, filo dough, and Oriental wrappers.

PenPlus tortilla blend, a potato starch from Penwest Foods, Englewood, Colo., was developed specifically for the low- and no-fat tortilla industry.

"It's not an off-the-shelf starch shoehorned into a blend for that application," says Dave Leigh, Penwest's vice president of sales and marketing.

The ingredient was developed in response to the key needs of product developers - starches that have excellent machinability, and that bind water well.

Key needs for low- and no-fat tortilla manufacturers include the need for improved sensory attributes. Other lowfat systems and ingredients can provide poor sensory attributes such as an off-odor, chewiness, and tortillas that contain an off-flavor, says Leigh. In addition, a high level of preservatives can also contribute to poor sensory attributes.

The starch is able to increase manufacturing speeds and extend rollability and pliability. The ability to bind more water is important in that a less tacky dough is produced which is also easier to rework, if necessary. The finished moisture level of the tortilla can be greater than 39%.

Cleaner labels are another result of using this ingredient, says Leigh.

The technology has been tested at the company's tortilla lab, and has utilized target commercial accounts and university pilot scale runs.

The ingredient blend can be adapted to either press or die-cut operations. It is sold in 50-lb. bags, palletized.