Citrus Fiber Viscosity Enhancer Dispersion

Citrus Fiber Viscosity Enhancer Dispersion

Written by Jerry Baresich, Hygienic Market Manager

We recently conducted a “try before you buy” equipment test on citrus fiber powder for a potential customer. They were looking to disperse it quickly and efficiently first into water and then into a fruit puree. They wanted to see the performance of our mixer in person, and we were eager to work with this exciting new ingredient.

Derived from citrus fruit, this powder is being used to enhance product viscosity and improve the texture and mouthfeel of beverages, dairy products, baked goods, jellies, and confectionery products. It is gaining popularity with food manufacturers because of its natural properties and being allergen and gluten-free. Some researchers claim there are considerable health benefits including stress relief, improved skin tone and aiding in digestion.

The test to disperse the citrus fiber was performed on our Rotosolver® high shear batch mixer. We used a 5-gallon in-tank with our RS-02 pilot mixer model. The test was sufficient to scale successfully up to a 100-gallon batch. The viscosity results were:

Test 1: 3% by weight citrus fiber in water
(Brookfield Viscometer, helipath T Spindle B @ 100 RPM – 1,800 cP) 

Test 2: 1.5% by weight citrus fiber in a fruit puree
(Brookfield Viscometer, helipath T Spindle D @ 100 RPM – 3,960 cP)

In both tests, we successfully added and dispersed the citrus fiber powder – yielding a smooth and agglomerate-free product in just FIVE minutes! The Rotosolver created excellent tank flow and a homogenous puree. Production scale 100-gallon batches mirrored these results. The Rotosolver proved to be a significant improvement in terms of processing time and product quality compared to how they were doing it previously (with an axial flow low shear mixer).

Ingredient knowledge and scalable testing assures that we will provide you with the best solution to make your mixing operation as efficient as possible. Contact us and ask about an equipment test with your ingredients or an in-plant equipment trial!