73G-5 |
Suppression of sourness: A comparative study involving mixtures of organic acids and salty maskers |
L. SAVANT, Food Science & Technology, Oregon State University, 100 Wiegand Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 and M. R. McDaniel. An important function of food acids is preservation. Acids are the first line of defense against microbial contamination in refrigerated foods and facilitate shorter sterilization times where heat is the primary method of preservation. However, addition of acids to food or beverage formulations often reduces palatability due to increased sourness and this deems sourness suppression critical. The objective of this work was to study salt-acid interactions by examining the effects of molarity, weight and relative saltiness of 3 anion-substituted sodium salts (NaCl, NaAcetate and NaGluconate) on the perceived sourness intensity of 3 food grade organic acids (citric, lactic, malic) at perceptually equi-sour levels in a water-based model system. Equi-sour acid levels were obtained by sourness matching. Equimolar and equiweight salt levels were determined by pilot testing. Mixtures were tested at low and high levels of each acid and salt, in addition to an acid control (with no added salt). Mixture sweetness and saltiness intensity ratings were collected on a 16-point intensity scale using a semi-trained discriminatory panel with 17 pre-screened panelists. Equimolar and equiweight levels of the three test salts did not effect sourness suppression equally. Perceived saltiness was related to suppression only in the case of NaCl-acid mixtures, which showed significant sourness reduction without a corresponding pH increase. Sourness suppression in NaAcetate-acid mixtures was the highest but was related to the large associated pH increase (above 4). NaGluconate mixtures showed moderate sourness reduction with citric and malic acids (pH remaining below 4), but did not show much suppression with lactic acid. Although acid addition to food allows for enhanced food safety, until now the food industry has only utilized limited acid levels to avoid the development of unpalatable perceptions. The results of this work could ultimately remove such restrictions by helping us better understand mixture suppression mechanisms.
Session 73G, Sensory Evaluation
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