Low fat, full taste
Most light mayonnaises don’t tend to deliver a taste or sensation anywhere near as good as the full fat variants. Unilever set out to develop one that did and found the answer in an unusual place: citrus fibres.
A global issue
There are more than one billion overweight adults worldwide, of which at least 300 million are obese. By 2015, the World Health Organisation predicts that figure will reach 700 million. The consequences of obesity have been well documented through the higher rates of health problems such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. One of the main causes of obesity is increased consumption of high calorie food rich in saturated fats and sugars.
The need for oil
The foods industry has responded to this problem with light and extra light products. But producing these is not a simple task. Full fat mayonnaise typically contains around 75% oil as well as egg yolks, water, vinegar and spices. The oil is crucial to the mayonnaise’s structure, and helps give the product its creamy texture thanks to the densely packed network of oil droplets which are emulsified by egg yolk proteins.
With most light variants having just 15-25% oil content, there are insufficient droplets to provide a creamy texture so water has to take over this function. Typically, extra starches and gums are used to enable the emulsion to set, but do so at the expense of the texture. The challenge was to reduce the oil content whilst maintaining the desired structure and texture.
Citrus fibres
With a team that included scientists, technologists, process engineers, product developers, nutritionists and supply chain specialists from across the globe, we found the solution in the fibres of citrus fruit, such as lemons and limes. Citrus fibre works by ensuring that the fewer oil droplets in light mayonnaise remain evenly distributed throughout the structure.
Mayonnaise slowly changes in the mouth – almost as if it’s melting. With citrus fibre this behaviour comes closer to that of full fat mayonnaise.
