Flavour Release and Perception

Bakker, J., Brown, W., Hills, B., Boudaud, N., Wilson, C., and Harrison, M. 1996. Effect of the food matrix on flavour release and perception. In Flavour Science Recent Developments (A.J. Taylor and D.S. Mottram, eds.) pp. 369-374. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, U.K. 

Boland, A.B., Delahunty, CM., van Ruth, S.M. (2006) Influence of the texture of gelatin gels and pectin gels on strawberry flavour release and perception. Food Chemistry, 96, 452-460. 

KGC Weel et al. Flavour release and perception of flavoured whey protein gels perception is determined by texture rather than by release. J Agric Food Chem 50 5149-5155, 2002. 

Different polysaccharides change the perception of flavour, thus xanthan is superior to gum guar in the perception of sweetness. Mixtures of xanthan and locust bean gum have improved flavour release and texture when used in pies and pat s compared to starch. Many foods are emulsions, examples being soups, sauces and spreads. Exopolysaccharides are used to stabilise these emulsions and prevent the phases from... 

The determination and analysis of sensory properties plays an important role in the development of new consumer products. Particularly in the food industry sensory analysis has become an indispensable tool in research, development, marketing and quality control. The discipline of sensory analysis covers a wide spectrum of subjects physiology of sensory perception, psychology of human behaviour, flavour chemistry, physics of emulsion break-up and flavour release, testing methodology, consumer research, statistical data analysis. Not all of these aspects are of direct interest for the chemometrician. In this chapter we will cover a few topics in the analysis of sensory data. General introductory books are e.g. Refs. [1-3]. 

In the foregoing we loosely talked about the intensity of a sensory attribute for a given sample, as if the assessors perceive a single (scalar) response. In reality, perception is a dynamic process, and a very complex one. For example, when a food product is taken in the mouth, the product disintegrates, emulsions are broken, flavours are released and transported from the mouth to the olfactory (smell) receptors in the nose. The measurement of these processes, analyzing and interpreting the results and, eventually, their control is of importance to the food... 

The above treatments apply equally to other organic solutes, the concentration of which in the continuous phase would determine release or activity [205]. Flavour release from O/W emulsions in the mouth has been described by a model which assumes that flavour molecules are transferred from oil to water when the equilibrium of the emulsion is disturbed by dilution with saliva, and that only the aqueous concentration stimulates perception [206, 207]. The release equations predict high release of flavour when the value of P for the flavouring agent is high, when dilution is high, and/or when the initial value of 0 is high. 

TA HoUowood, RST Linford, AJ Taylor. The relationship between carvone release and the perception of mintyness in gelatine gels. In DD Roberts, AJ Taylor, eds. Flavour Release. ACS Symposium series 763 Washington, DC, 2000 pp 370 380. 

Volatile compounds play a fundamental role in food seience and technology. In part, this is because they are released when foods and drinks are consumed, and are hence involved in aroma and flavour which are intimately linked to our enjoyment, palatability and perception of food. Aroma volatiles that reach the olfactory epithelium, via orthonasal and retronasal pathways, play not only a major role in our enjoyment of food (and drink), but also allow us to assess food quality or to detect subtle changes in food products as a result of modifications in ingredients and production. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are also emitted directly from food which can, for example, give us information about ripening processes (e.g. cheese or fruits) and the effects of storage. 

H. E. Nursten, The Maillard reaction in food and nutrition, in Flavour 2000 Perception, Release, Evaluation, Formation, Acceptance, Nutrition/Health, M. Rothe (ed), Eigenverlag, Bergholz-Rehbriicke, 2001, 297-309. 

The way a gel structure deforms and breaks under stress is crucial for properties such as flow and fracture behaviour, sensory perception of structure and release of water and flavours. 

An essential requirement of ice cream products is that they taste appealing. The flavours used in ice cream manufacture are usually supplied as solutions of aroma and taste compounds. Some flavour molecules are fat soluble, whereas others are water soluble. This affects the perception of flavour in ice cream water-soluble flavours are present in the matrix and are released rapidly on consumption, whereas fat-soluble flavours are released more slowly. Flavours may be natural, i.e. extracted from sources such as plants, or synthetic. The latter can be nature identical (artificially produced but identical to the naturally occurring form) or artificial (artificially produced and not occurring in nature). They are used to impart flavour to products, to enhance inherent flavours and to ensure uniformity of flavour between batches. Fruit acids, such as citric or malic acid are added to fruit flavoured water ice products to give them extra bite , by making them sour. The three most important ice cream flavours are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. 

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