Low fat, high flavour – science has the recipe

Published on Saturday 14 February 2009 18:43

FOR years it has been the Holy Grail of healthy food: low-fat dishes that actually taste good.

Now Government scientists have made a breakthrough, one that promises low-fat food that has all the health benefits but also retains the flavour.

The development could herald a new generation of low-fat products – including yoghurts, creams, ice-creams and sauces used in readymade meals – that will be more palatable for consumers and combat Britain's obesity epidemic.

It could also end the common industry practice of adding more sugar and salt to replace the taste lost during the low-fat food manufacturing process.

Researchers at the Government's Institute of Food Research found that they could both reduce the fat content of food ingredients and retain the original taste by diluting the liquid fat with water during a high-speed mixing process.

By adding a type of protein, they could then stop the fat and water separating out again. Industry food scientists are currently investigating whether their formulation can be made commercially viable.

Dr Peter Wilde, deputy programme leader at the Norwich-based Institute of Food Research, said that although low-fat foods were an essential part of tackling rising levels of obesity, many were not as "palatable" as the full-fat product.

"Fat is an essential nutrient and gives the products a mouth feel and texture and creaminess that people find attractive," he said. "We have altered the oil and water ratio so that the fat content is reduced but it still

retains its taste. We are keeping the same number of fat droplets inside the food but filling each droplet with water, so the outside of the droplet will taste like a fat droplet but it has more water inside it."

The resulting "emulsion", the basis for low-fat foods such as yoghurts, ice-cream and sauces, was then used to make mayonnaise. "The test that we did suggested it tasted exactly the same as the parent product but with 40% reduced fat. Now food companies have to find out whether this survives the processing required to make food."

Food experts welcomed the news. Carina Norris, author of the new Haynes guide to healthy eating, said: "When you take out the fat, things can taste like cardboard. Manufacturers have tended to put in added sugar and salt to compensate, but this may just replace one problem with another. If you can have low-fat foods that still taste good but don't need anything adding then that's great."

Most chefs tend to avoid low-fat foods. Martin Wishart, who runs his Michelin-starred restaurant in Leith, said: "Fat does have an effect on the richness of a dish. If you cut that out the flavour is a lot less than you expect."

But Mike Lean, professor of human nutrition at Glasgow University, said food scientists were not necessarily taking the right approach. "Low-fat foods don't taste awful, just different, but it is surprising how quickly the palate adjusts.

"What we really need is for all the manufacturers to reduce fat in their products by stealth over a five-year period. The problem is Asda says if it does it alone then everyone will go to Tesco, so we need the Government to insist on a coordinated approach."