i wish to add sweet potato flour in sweet potato puree inorder to bring down the water activity from 0.98 to around 0.93.can the flour be able to reduce the water activity?
sweet potato flour is more hygroscopic compared to maize flour. it may therefore be possible to use it as a humectant in puree. Trials must be done in small portions before full applications
It depends on the type of sweet potato, Joyce.. Please check the carbohydrate content. Some sweet potato contains roughly 20% CHO much lower than cassava, and yet it has high sugar content. In Indonesia we have a honey sweet potato with high fructose, --called Cilembu strain sweet potato--, very sweet potato, and when you bake it gives you some nectar like liquid. The sugar content will have capability to lower down the aw. And hence, the sweeter the sweet potato the more effectivly reduces the aw.
In India we make sweet potato puddings...the humectant activity is very apparent since on heating boiled/roasted sweet potato with sugar and milk fat. We have to add water intermittently to prevent the pudding from clumping.
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