Effect of anticaking agents on caking and quality characteristics of garlic cream powder sauce

The caking of powder sauce is a common problem during food processing and storage, and leads to critical issues in products quality. In this study, to address the problem of caking of garlic cream powder sauce, an optimal sauce mixing ratio was selected, and the quality characteristics was analyzed. Moisture content, hygroscopicity, and caking degree were the lowest with 2% silicon dioxide and 2% microcrystalline cellulose treatment (S2C2). In addition, the normalized turbidity and quality characteristics of the garlic cream powder sauce were improved. Anticaking agents (silicon dioxide and microcrystalline cellulose) did not significantly affect the sensory quality characteristics, such as viscosity, color value, flavor, and mouth-feel of the garlic cream powder sauce, and neither did they affect the consumer preference. Thus, it was concluded that S2C2 treated with a combination of silicon dioxide and microcrystalline cellulose during long-term storage is the most effective in preventing caking and maintaining the quality characteristics. Upon examination with a usable range of food additives, it was found that it can also be used as a reference for a particular method for improving the food processing and preservation techniques in the powder sauce industry.