DisplayTitle

In the inulin production process, inulin depleted chicory root with a fiber content of 75% (on dry weight) remains as a by-product after inulin extraction. This novel insoluble Chicory Root Fiber (iCRF) fits the increasing market for natural food fibers, that is mainly driven by the growing consumer awareness of fiber intake and the food industry needs for improved ingredient functionality. The application potential of iCRF was benchmarked and tested on taste and texture functionality in bread and a cereal bar. In a comparative study with other fibers, the dried iCRF contained less fiber than wheat (93%) and oat (93%), but contained more fiber than potato fiber (56%). On technical performance, iCRF had the highest water holding capacity of all tested fibers (7.0 ml/g vs. 3.7, 3.1 and 5.4 for wheat, oat and potato, respectively). In Farinograph measurements, this high water binding was conserved in bread. A 2.8% addition of iCRF enabled the addition of 72% of water, as compared to 64% water addition for dough with a similar oat or wheat fiber addition.