FORMULATION OF NATURAL HYDROCOLLOIDS AND VIRGIN COCONUT OIL AS A PLANT-BASED SALAD DRESSING

Salad dressing is traditionally used as a seasoning to enhance consumers' appetite due to its creamy mouthfeel and special flavor. However, consumers are aware of the cholesterol level in egg yolk and the fat type applied in dressing products. This study aimed to produce low-fat and eggless salad dressing with virgin coconut oil (VCO). Hydrocolloids, including xanthan gum and modified starch, were used as independent variables by response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate their impacts on the salad dressing's viscosity, stability, and firmness. The findings showed that optimum values for the hydrocolloids of xanthan gum and modified starch were 1.56% and 0.10%, respectively and the optimum experimental values were stability 0.33%, texture 1506.5 g, and viscosity 162.25 mpas. This optimized formulation's predicted and experimental data had no significant (p>0.05) differences that indicated this study's desired results. The proximate analysis of the optimized formulation was moisture content 47.91, ash 1.91, fiber 1.57, fat 21.97, protein 1.66, carbohydrate 24.98, and caloric values 296.29. The findings of this study were similar to the commercial products, which suggested a high potential for using optimum values for the hydrocolloids of xanthan gum and modified starch as an egg replacer and VCO in salad dressing to improve the quality and the biological functions of the product.