Sugar sensory property

Many microbial metabolites are volatile compounds and in terms of their sensory properties can be broken into two broad categories odorants and tastants (Table 1). Tastants include salty, sour, sweet, and bitter compounds such as amino acids, peptides, and sugars. Primary odorants typically are quite volatile and include carbonyl compounds, esters, and terpenes. There is considerable overlap between the two categories lactones, for example, have both taste and odor properties. In keeping with the theme of this symposium, volatile aroma substances will be the primary focus. 

Kuo, J. C., and Ockerman, H. W. (1985). Effect of salt, sugar and storage time on microbiological, chemical and sensory properties of Chinese style dried pork. J. Food ScL 50, 1384. 

The main importance of lipids is their influence on sensory properties. They affect the texture (Chapter 4) and increase the viscosity of the morsel after mixing with saliva high viscosity is appreciated by most consumers. Their interaction products with amino acids, proteins, and sugars (see Chapter 17) have favorable effects on the color of food surfaces. Coating foods with a layer of oil produces glossy aspect and improves the appearance of the food product. 

The preservation of quality in post-harvest is the prerequisite for agri-food products in the final stages of commercialization. The fruit quality is related to the appearance (skin color, size, shape, integrity of the fruit), to the sensorial properties (hardness and crispness of the flesh, juicy, acid/sugars) and to safety (residues in fruit). 

Figure 9.13 To the winemaker, yeast is integral to crafting wonderful, complex wines from simple, sugar-rich grape juice. Grape juice is converted into wine by the action of wine yeasL Some wine components are whoUy generated by yeast as part of metaboUsm whilst others are essentially as created by the grapevine. The large number of compounds synthesised or modified by wine yeast have a major impact on wine quality and style. Commercial yeast strains possess different abilities to form and modulate compounds that impact on wine sensory properties. These compounds are produced as a result of yeast metabohe processes.

Aside from its intrinsic sensory properties, acetic acid may modify the perception of other wine constituents. For example, fixed acidity and tannins may be intensified. Conversely, higher levels of sugar and alcohol tend to mask the presence of potentially objectionable concentrations of the acid (Zoecklein et al., 1995). 

The potential of a compound for use as a sweetener depends upon its physical, processing and sensory properties. Important physical properties are solubility, viscosity of the solutions, and hy-groscopicity. Figure 19.1 shows that the solubility of sugars and their alcohols in water is variable and affected to a great extent by temperature. 

In many cases, HSI may replace NIR spectrometers to compute concentrations of various compounds or to estimate quality parameters of agricultural and food products. HSI can be used to assess properties as diverse as oil content, moisture, flour yield, softness, sucrose solvent retention capacity, and alpha-amylase activity in grains [26-28] sugar content and maturity of fruits like apple or banana [29-31] drip loss, water-holding capacity, color, pH, and sensory properties of meat [32-39] analysis of mixtures to detect the presence of substances such as, in forages [40], or the concentration of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in designer eggs [41]. 

M. A. Godshall, C. C. Grimm, and M. A. Clarke, Sensory properties of white heet sugars. Proceedings of the 1994 Sugar Processing Conferences, Helsinki, Finland, 1994, p. 312. 

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