Sweetness Perception in Relation to Some Textural Characteristics of Hydrocolloid Gels

Abstract

The apparent sweetness of five different hydrocolloid gels prepared with equal amounts of sodium Sucaryl varied significantly (P < 0.01) when tested in a multiple paired arrangement by seven trained judges. Results from four replications consistently showed sweetness to be the greatest in carrageenan gels and the least in cornstarch gels. It was intermediate in low methoxyl pectin, agar and gelatin gels. Concentrations of gelling agents were selected to produce gels comparable in hardness. Characterization of mechanical textural properties with the GF‐Zenken Texturometer showed that gels of cornstarch and gelatin were more cohesive, springy, chewy and gummy than those of agar, low methoxyl pectin and carrageenan (P < 0.01). These findings suggested that gels which take more effort to disintegrate limit taste perception. Multiple regression analyses showed that the measured mechanical textural parameters accounted for 52.3% of the variability in sweetness scores suggesting that other characteristics may also play a role. Inspection of correlation coefficients of sweetness with single textural parameters showed no one characteristic as a dominating influence over sweetness.

The role of the human senses in food acceptance

“…However, she also found that the sweetness of sodium saccharin increased with increasing viscosity in gums that contained sodium ions. These results reinforced the notion that viscosity-taste interactions are dependent upon the nature of the thickening agent, a suggestion made earlier by Marshall and Vaisey (1972), who observed that sweetness intensity was diminished most in those gels that broke down slowly in the mouth. Although the results of Pangborn et al (1973) showed significant effects of viscosity on taste perception at very low viscosity levels, subsequent studies by Christensen (1977Christensen ( , 1980a found these effects to be more subtle.…”

Native rice starch and linseed gum blends: Effect on the pasting, thermal and rheological properties

“…The deformation in samples with gums was more evident in comparison with the control. Less springy gels having lower rubberiness are easy to masticate (Marshall & Vaisey 1972). It was reported by Alamri et al (2013b) that the slower polymer aggregate formation due to the presence of gum results in more viscous regions with reduced springiness.…”

“…A significant increase in the adhesiveness of starch gels was observed with the inclusion of linseed gum. Higher adhesiveness of food containing rice is reported to have good taste (Marshall & Vaisey 1972).…”

Influence of texture on the temporal perception of sweetness of gelled systems

“…The large differences in composition, structure and rheological behaviour of different food matrices and the well known variations in the mastication process among individuals make interpretation of the perceived differences in sweetness highly difficult (Bonnans & Noble, 1995;Wilson & Brown, 1997). In gelled systems (food or model), sweetened with one compound at a certain concentration, the higher the hydrocolloid concentration, the lower the sweetness intensity (Chai, Oakenfull, McBride, & Lane, 1991;Costell, Peyroló n, & Durán, 2000;Marshall & Vaisey, 1972;Wilson & Brown, 1997) although perceptible differences in sweetness among different hydrocolloid gels of similar hardness have been detected (Boland, Delahunty, & van Ruth, 2006;Chai et al, 1991; et al, 2000). It has been reported that considering simultaneously variations in true rupture strain, deformability modulus and sweetener concentration, a high percentage of the variability in sweetness for both gellan gum and j-carrageenan gels could be explained (Bayarri, Durán, & Costell, 2003).…”