Food industries adapt their products and processes to the needs and desires of consumers. Extruded snacks include 10–20% fat sprinkled to fix flavors, seasonings, and salt. Considering the need to flavor snacks and simultaneously reduce the intake of calories, a polysaccharide is proposed in this study as a fat replacer. Impact of aqueous xanthan gum (Xg) solutions (0.25, 0.5, 1.0%) under two pH conditions (3.5 and 7.0) on structural and sensory characteristics of extruded snacks was analyzed. Rheological features of the coating solutions, as flow behaviour and viscoelastic profile (storage and loss moduli), were assessed. Texture analysis, to evaluate the snacks firmness and moisture content, water activity, retraction, and agglomeration index of the coated snacks, were also evaluated. Results for the aqueous Xg coatings were very encouraging showing good coating properties, not damaging the texture of the extrudates or causing agglomeration. Sensory analysis reflected a good overall acceptability of these snacks, as compared to oil-coated snacks. Therefore, xanthan gum should be used by the industry, to replace fat, on extruded snacks flavor coating solutions.

中文翻译：

---

黄原胶作为替代脂肪的替代品，用于对挤出的零食进行涂层和调味。

食品工业根据消费者的需求和愿望调整其产品和工艺。膨化零食包括撒上 10-20% 的脂肪以固定风味、调味料和盐。考虑到需要调味零食并同时减少卡路里的摄入量，本研究中建议使用多糖作为脂肪替代品。分析了黄原胶 (Xg) 水溶液（0.25、0.5、1.0%）在两种 pH 条件（3.5 和 7.0）下对挤出小吃的结构和感官特性的影响。评估了涂料溶液的流变特性，如流动行为和粘弹性分布（储存和损失模量）。还评估了质地分析，以评估零食的硬度和水分含量、水分活度、回缩和包衣零食的凝聚指数。水性 Xg 涂层的结果非常令人鼓舞，显示出良好的涂层性能，不会破坏挤出物的质地或导致结块。感官分析反映了这些零食与涂油零食相比具有良好的整体可接受性。因此，工业上应使用黄原胶来代替脂肪，用于膨化零食风味涂层溶液。