305 The effect of cellulose on blueberry muffins.

A. C. Su and J. F. ANG. Fiber Sales & Development Corp. P.O. Box 88940, St. Louis, MO 63188.

It has previously been reported that certain forms of cellulose can significantly affect the properties of layer cakes. This functional cellulose is unique in its ability to positively impact the baking properties of different types of layer cakes at relatively low usage levels. In this study, the effect of the same cellulose ingredient was examined in a blueberry muffin model. Functional cellulose was added to a typical blueberry muffin formulation at 0.5% increments, up to a maximum of 2.0% (based on the weight of the total formulation). After baking, a number of parameters were evaluated, including volume, bake loss, moisture content, color, symmetry, and uniformity. The results of this study indicated that the addition of cellulose decreased the bake loss in blueberry muffins. It was also observed that there was a proportional volume enhancement with increasing cellulose usage level. In addition, data from this study indicated that the inclusion of cellulose resulted in improved uniformity and symmetry indices. Based on our findings, functional cellulose may be used to improve the baking properties of blueberry muffins.