Abstract: A fat substitute was prepared as a mixture of high-ester citrus pectin with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and applied in margarine. The optimum addition level was determined by texture analysis, rheological measurement, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Experimental results showed that as the addition of fat substitutes increased, the hardness, consistency and viscosity of the samples decreased. Moreover, the area of the hysteresis loop increased, the transformation from crystal type β’ to β became more obvious, and the structure gradually became loose. Finally, we concluded that the optimum addition level was 10%.

Key words: fat substitute, margarine, crystal structure