Food systems, structure

The measurement of rheological properties for non-Newtonian, lipid-based food systems, such as dilatant, pseudoplastic, and plastic, as depicted in Figure 4.1, are much more difficult. There are several measurement methods that may involve the ratio of shear stress and rate of shear, and also the relationship of stress to time under constant strain (i.e., relaxation) and the relationship of strain to time under constant stress (i.e., creep). In relaxation measurements, a material, by principle, is subjected to a sudden deformation, which is held constant and in many food systems structure, the stress will decay with time. The point at which the stress has decayed to some percentage of the original value is called the relaxation time. When the strain is removed at time tg, the stress returns to zero (Figure 4.8). In creep experi-... 

Furthermore, the mechanism shown in Figure 12.1 considers only the all-tnmv-carotcnoid form as the initial compound however, although the all-tran.v-isomer predominates, d.v-isomcrs are also commonly found in model solutions and even more frequently in food systems, since these isomers are in equilibrium in the solution. Therefore, the initial carotenoid system often contains a mixture of isomers, whose composition changes according to the carotenoid structure, solvent, and heat treatment. For example, the isomerization rate of P-carotene is higher in nonpolar solvents, e.g., petroleum ether and toluene, than in polar solvents (Zechmeister 1944). 

During the process, the solute diffuses into the intercellular space and, depending on the characteristics of the solute, it may pass through the membrane and enter the intracellular space. Differences in chemical potentials of water and solutes in the system result in fluxes of several components of the material and solution water drain and solute uptake are the two main simultaneous flows. Together with the changes in chemical composition of the food material, structural changes such as shrinkage, porosity reduction, and cell collapse take place and influence mass transfer behavior in the tissue. 

It is important to understand the characteristic interactions involved at an interface containing each of the main types of surface-active molecules, i.e., biopolymers (proteins, polysaccharides) and low-molecular-weight surfactants (lipids). But that is not the whole story. In real food systems there are almost always mixed ingredients at the interface. So it is necessary to understand what sorts of mixed interfacial structures are formed, and how they are influenced by the intermolecular interactions. 

The structural characteristics of a variety of food systems are complexly related to the physicochemical protein phenomena of aggregation, coagulation and/or gelation. These phenomena are physical manifestations of protein denaturation processes which are highly dependent upon the type and amount of protein, processing conditions, pH and Ionic environment. 

Other Protein Components. Other protein components In complex food systems and In protein Ingredient preparations may Interfere with or modify gelation reactions. Protein Interaction between whey protein and casein upon heating has a profound Influence on the characteristics of the casein gel structure In cheesemaking. Similarly protein Interactions are Important to meat structures. Protein-protein Interaction between soy and meat proteins has also been demonstrated with heat treatment (28). While concrete Interaction data have not been collected on protein gels formed from protein combinations, gelation properties of whey proteln/peanut flour blends have been Investigated GU) ... 

That is, we must learn how amino acid content and molecular configuration of food proteins are related to their functional properties. This goal is made more difficult by the fact that secondary, tertiary, and quarternary structures of proteins are likely to be quite different when exerting functional effects in food systems as compared to structures of the same proteins in dilute solutions and in their native states. The way in which specific actions of proteases affect protein structure must also be studied so that correlations with changes in functional properties can be made (61). 

The most important feature affecting the functional and organoleptic properties of a protein is its surface structure. Surface structures affect the interaction of a protein with water or other proteins. By modifying the structure of the protein, particular functional and organoleptic properties are obtained. Functional properties of a protein are physicochemical characteristics that affect the processing and behavior of protein in food systems (Kinsella, 1976). These properties are related to the appearance, taste, texture, and nutritional value of a food system. Hydrolysis is one of the most important protein structure modification processes in the food industry. Proteins are hydrolyzed to a limited extent and in a controlled manner to improve the functional properties of a foodstuff. 

It is often best to begin with purified proteins when studying the relationships between protein structure and function at the molecular level. The presence of multiple proteins often complicates data interpretation, as it is not clear if effects are due to protein interactions, variations in the ratio of proteins, or to other factors. In these studies it is advisable to select tests based on a fundamental physical or chemical property, since results are less likely to vary with the test conditions or instrumentation used. Unfortunately, it becomes less likely that the property under study will relate directly to function in a food system when such simplified (often dilute) systems are used. Something as seemingly insignificant as protein concentration in the model system can have a large influence on the results obtained. Also, the relative importance or contribution of a functional property to a complex food system can be misinterpreted in a purified model system. 

Expressible moisture Ability of a protein to retain water upon application of an external force, e.g., centrifugation or pressure, under specified conditions Expressible moisture content (%) = (wt. water released/inilial sample wl.) x 100 Advantages Tests are simple to perform. Disadvantages Sample structure may be destroyed or deformed by the applied force leading to results that do not correlate with a real food system. Kocher and Foegeding (1993) Jaurequi et al. (1981) Lee and Patel (1984)... 

This book gives an informative, yet relatively concise and well-referenced, summary of the structure and catalytic mechanism of selected food-related enzymes. A ll enzymes covered play an important role in food systems and all have their catalytic mechanism described at the molecular level. 

New experimental techniques and several of their applications were presented which help in the understanding of structure, texture and stability of food systems. For future research, the mechanism of film stability by the microlayering of colloid particles seems to be the most promising - especially in food emulsions and foams. Work is in progress in our laboratory to calculate the oscillatory disjoining pressure inside liquid films containing microlayers [30],... 

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