The Soyfoods Council, Urbandale, Iowa, has released a brochure called "Soy Solutions to Trans Fat-Free Baking" that focuses on research performed at Iowa State University in Ames. A study there compared five different soy-based shortening or oil substitutions in a variety of commercial baked foods, including yellow cake, muffins, icing, bread rolls and biscuits.

The study used instrumental, physical and sensory analysis and revealed the interesterified shortenings performed up to gold standards in the widest range of applications when replacing hydrogenated vegetable shortenings. Ultra Low Linolenic Soybean Oil worked well in products where oils typically are used, such as cakes and muffins, without formula modification.

"We tested the two new interesterified soy-based shortenings," said Lester Wilson, professor of food science at Iowa State University. "This research provides valuable information to food formulators about the performance and taste they can expect using these soy-based oils and shortenings in their own baked goods.

"We have every reason to believe the results we obtained are transferrable from the lab to commercial operations."

The brochure also lists soybean oils with reduced or no trans fats and their potential baking applications. The oils include standard soybean oil, low-linolenic soybean oil, expeller-pressed soybean oil and chemically interesterified soybean oil.

For more information, e-mail ahemauer@thesoyfoodscouncil.com or visit www.ZeroTransSoy.com.

This article can also be found in the digital edition of Milling and Baking News, August 25, 2009, starting on Page 40. Click