Spherification of Hydrocolloids by Jet Cutter

Abstract

Biopolymer ionotropic gelation using extrusion dripping technique has been widely employed for microencapsulation and to make flavored spheres for culinary applications. Here, we employ a jet cutter, a rotative tool able to cut the biopolymer jet into small droplets, to further reduce the size of the beads. This study is aimed to investigate the influence of the type of biopolymers on the formation of droplets by the jet cutting. Experiments were conducted using biopolymeric dispersions of pectin (P6), sodium alginate (SA2) and a combination of SA and starch (SA1.5+ S2) that were previously characterized in regard to rheology, density and surface tension. The increase in the rotational speed from 600 to 900 rpm reduced the bead sizes from 2.2 to 1.0 mm, which helps to minimize diffusional limitations during application.