Providing Tenderness

Fats, oils, and emulsifiers tenderize by coating structure builders—gluten proteins, egg proteins, and starch granules—and preventing them from hydrating and forming structure. Tenderness is the opposite of toughness. A tender product is easy to break, chew, squeeze, or crumble because it lacks a strong structure.

Tenderness is usually considered a good thing. After all, baked goods that are tender are pleasantly easy to bite. Tenderizers, however, must be balanced with structure builders (tougheners). Too much tenderness is undesirable because overly tender products collapse, break apart, or are excessively crumbly or mealy.