Application of DATEM in Food

Diacetyl tartrate mono-diglycerides, referred to as DATEM, was sold as a dough conditioner in the United States as early as 1948 and was used in baked foods as a food emulsifier after 1976. In Europe in the 1960s, DATEM was not only used in baked foods but also confectionery. , Margarine and other foods are also used. DATEM has the functions of emulsification, stabilization, anti-aging, and freshness preservation. Used in bread, pastry, biscuits, cereal food, extruded food, butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, vegetable fat powder, soup, pigment concentrate, and other products.

•  Improve emulsification, prevent oil-water separation, and be used as an emulsifier and dispersant

•  Increase dough strength, increase volume, improve structure, soft texture, prevent aging

• Form a complex with starch, prevent swelling and loss of starch, and improve the gelatinization characteristics of starch

• Used in cream to make the cream soft and smooth

The largest market for emulsifiers in the world is the baking industry. In bakery products, the most commonly used emulsifiers are sodium stearoyl lactylate/calcium (SSL/CSL), diacetyl tartrate mono-diglycerides (DATEM), and molecularly distilled monoglycerides. (GMS), lecithin, etc. They can interact with gluten protein to form complexes, connect gluten molecules, form a macromolecular gluten network, enhance the elasticity, toughness, and gas retention of dough, increase the volume of bread, and improve the tissue structure of bread. It can also act with amylose to delay the aging speed of products. When the flour quality is good and the operation is perfect, the volume of bread made by DATEM is larger than other emulsifiers.

Application of DATEM in Various Food

1. Application of DATEM in Bread

The most basic function of DATEM is that it can quickly and completely combine with the hydrated gluten bundles, making the gluten network stronger, and at the same time more extensible and elastic, so that the resulting dough has a network of air cells.

In foreign countries, bakers will prefer to use DATEM-containing bread conditioners in low-auxiliary or crispy bread to obtain maximum air-holding capacity. 

2. Application of DATEM to Biscuits and Puffed Snacks

DATEM can emulsify oil, increase volume, and gradually solidify and fix with baking, so that the center layer structure forms a porous sponge-like loose body, improving product porosity and taste, and extending shelf life. When adding 0.12%~0.5% DATEM, it can reduce about 20% fat consumption in biscuits, and achieve good health care and food effects.

3. Application of DATEM in Cake

Because DATEM has good foaming properties, it can produce cakes with uniform honeycomb and thin walls. If fat is added to the formula, the fat can be dispersed finer and more evenly under the action of DATEM, and the fine fat particles make the cake taste better and softer. Especially when making cakes in the one-step method, if you want to make a good sponge, you must add emulsifiers, and DATEM, SSL, and GMS are all good choices.