The functional foods sector represents a significant and growing portion of the food industry, yet formulation of these products often involves the use of ingredients that elicit less than desirable ...oral sensations, including bitterness. Promising new functional ingredients, including polyphenolics, may be more widely and readily employed in the creation of novel functional foods if their aversive bitter taste can be significantly reduced. A number of approaches are used by the industry to improve the taste properties and thus the acceptance of conventional foods that elicit excessive bitterness. This article reviews the most commonly employed techniques, including the use of bitter-modifying additives, which may prove useful for successfully introducing new functional ingredients into this rapidly growing sector.
Sodium reduction strategies remain relevant and of value to the meat processing industry. While several approaches have been tested, most have demonstrated less than optimal results, mainly through ...the loss of product functionality or desirable sensory properties. We investigated a novel approach using two sizes of salt crystals to confer both functional and sensory properties in reduced sodium beef patties. Our results demonstrated that using a ratio of 3 mm sized, fat coated salt crystals and table salt in 30% reduced sodium beef patties can elicit saltiness equivalent to regular salt beef patties, and significantly higher compared to 30% reduced sodium beef patties - each formulated with table salt alone. Testing of additional ratios showed differences in juiciness and cook loss, with higher ratios of 3 mm sized salt crystals associated with drier patties and increased cook loss. While further improvement of texture and functional quality is required, efforts to optimize the approach may provide a relevant and attainable strategy for application towards some reduced sodium meat products.
•Taste contrast was applied to enhance the saltiness of reduced sodium beef patties.•A ratio of two sizes of salt crystals elevated saltiness compared to low salt control.•A higher ratio of larger salt crystals led to reduced juiciness and higher cook loss.
Production of alternative red meats such as bison, elk, horse and kangaroo, offer both economic opportunities and nutritional benefits but is still a niche market due to both demand and supply ...limitations. The review was aimed at providing a comprehensive summary of sensory and consumer-related factors influencing consumption of these meats. Flavor is the key sensory attribute distinguishing these meats from conventional red meat and driving acceptance. Undesirable sensory attributes, lack of culinary knowledge, high price, seasonal availability, and safety concerns were major deterrents to consumption. Consumption was influenced by socio-demographic factors of gender, age, income, and education level.
This paper is dedicated to the memory of colleague and friend, Dr. Samson Agboola, who recently passed away.
: The use of flavor‐modifying strategies are important to improving the sensory profile ...of some excessively bitter and astringent functional ingredients, such as (+)‐catechin (CAT). Two bitter blockers (ß‐cyclodextrin CYCLO, homoeriodictyol sodium salt HED), two sweeteners (sucrose SUC, rebaudioside A REB), and two odorants (vanillin VAN, black tea aroma TEA) were assessed for their efficacy at modifying the bitterness and astringency of CAT in model aqueous solutions. The intensity of oral sensations elicited by CAT was determined in duplicate in binary, ternary, and quaternary mixtures of these stimuli by a trained panel (n= 15) using a 15 cm visual analogue scale. Overall, bitterness and astringency were most effectively reduced by ternary solutions containing CYCLO + REB or CYCLO + SUC (68%, 60%, and 45%, 43% for bitterness and astringency, respectively). Odorants were not effective at modifying the bitterness or astringency of CAT. We conclude that the use of select bitter blockers and sweeteners may be of value in optimizing the flavor and acceptance of functional food and beverages fortified with phenolic compounds.
Practical Application: (+)‐Catechin is a bitter‐tasting plant‐derived health‐promoting phenolic compound of interest to functional food and beverage manufacturers. We investigated the efficacy of bitter blockers, plant‐based sweeteners, and odorants in decreasing the bitterness and astringency elicited by (+)‐catechin. Some of these additives, both alone and in combination, reduced bitterness and astringency, and may therefore assist in optimizing the flavor and consumer acceptance of some phenolic‐based functional foods and beverages.
Current strategies for decreasing the bitterness of conventional foods often involve the addition of sucrose and sodium chloride. However this has limited application with functional foods, as they ...are health promoting, and other approaches are required. This study assesses the efficacy of high and low concentrations of five bitter inhibiting compounds β-cyclodextrin (β-CYCLO), homoeriodictyol sodium salt (HED), zinc sulphate monohydrate (ZnSO4), magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt (CMC) on the perceived bitterness of high and low concentrations of (+)-catechin and caffeine – two ingredients used in functional food formulations. Intensity ratings (bitterness, sourness, saltiness, sweetness, savoriness, astringency, ‘other’) of bitterant-bitter blocker binary solutions were collected from a panel of twelve, in duplicate, using a 15 cm line scale. Overall, β-CYCLO and HED were the most effective blockers at decreasing the bitterness of (+)-catechin, while the bitterness of caffeine was reduced most effectively by HED. Results also demonstrate that the bitter reducing capacity of these blockers is bitterant dependent. In general, these bitter blockers elicit minimum side tastes and sensations, although astringency and viscosity intensities are increased under some conditions. We conclude that some bitter blockers show considerable potential for decreasing the bitterness of phenols and caffeine in functional food formulations.
INTRODUCTION: There is a continued need for the application of flavour modifiers to improve the sensory profile of products within the functional food market. Additionally, psychophysical studies ...have tended to confine their scope to stimuli that elicit single sensations, and ingredients that are not always of most interest to the food industry. While basic taste-eliciting compounds and odourants have been used in functional food optimisation, modification can also include the addition of bitter-blocking ingredients. This study examines the impact that these modifiers have both alone and in conjunction with each other on the flavour of (+)-catechin containing model functional beverages. METHODS: The intensities of sweetness, bitterness, astringency and aroma were rated for (+)-catechin (CAT) aqueous solutions alone and containing a sweetener sucrose or rebaudioside A (REB), an odourant (vanilla or black tea), a bitter blocker ß-cyclodextrin (CD) or homoeriodictyol sodium salt, and all combinations of each. RESULTS: The use of sweeteners, both alone and in conjunction with bitter blockers, decreased the bitterness of CAT, while odourants had no effect. CD + REB significantly decreased the astringency of CAT. Astringency and bitterness of CAT was not altered by the addition of bitter blockers alone or in combination with odourants. Bitter blockers did not affect intensities of sweetness and aroma. CONCLUSIONS: The use of sweeteners in combination with bitter blockers can lower the bitterness of (+)-catechin. The addition of bitter blockers may be used without a detrimental effect on the flavour profile of model beverages. IMPLICATIONS: Decreasing the bitterness of plant-derived, health-promoting compounds may be achieved through the application of certain sweet eliciting and bitter-blocking compounds, which in turn, may lead to increasing the acceptability of some functional foods for bitter sensitive consumer populations.
Les études rassemblées dans ce numéro embrassent plus de deux siècles d’écritures de la ruralité, à partir des prodromes de la conscience écologique au 18e siècle jusqu’aux écritures les plus ...contemporaines. Elles en montrent l’évolution, en relation avec l’histoire du monde rural. À l’heure des inquiétudes environnementales, le thème de la campagne, longtemps resté en retrait de l’actualité littéraire, présente une fécondité inédite, comme en témoignent la diversité et l’invention formelle des œuvres présentées ici. Le volume s’enrichit de six textes d’écrivains, français et suisses, qui ont bien voulu contribuer à la réflexion.
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