Wholegrain foods are known to be health-beneficial but their sensory characteristics may be a limiting factor for consumption. Many cereals like rye, oats, barley and sorghum are actually used mainly as wholegrain, whereas for wheat the situation is the opposite. This review deals with factors that differentiate the sensory properties of wholegrain and bran-rich foods from those of refined cereal foods. Hitherto established means of modulating sensory quality and thus improving acceptability of wholegrain foods are also presented.
Key words
Highlights Most sensory attributes of wholegrain foods are formed during processing Phenolics, peptides, Maillard reaction products and lipids are the major compounds determining the specific flavour of wholegrain foods Bran particle size, surface interactions and water binding are key factors in affecting texture formation Milling, fractionation, bioprocessing and choice of raw materials are among the tools to improve the sensory characteristics of wholegrain foods