Topic 3: Sensory Perception and Quality of Food Flashcards
What chemical compounds are sweet (taste/smell)?
sugars, alcohol, aldehydes
What chemical compounds are sour (taste/smell)?
Acids, weaker acids are more sour because of being in an undissociated state. Higher amount of undissociated acid replaces the hydronium ion
What chemical compounds are bitter (taste/smell)?
Alkaloids, phenolic compounds
What chemical compounds are savory (taste/smell)?
glutamate
What molecules are involved in the taste enhancers that improve umami taste?
Taste enhancers are derived from amino acids and nucleotides, these enhance saltiness
Percentage of the population are supertasters, medium tasters, or non-tasters?
25%, 50%, 25%
What are some examples of salt & umami taste enhancers?
MSG (Monosodium glutamate) is Sodium salt of glutamic acid (amino acid), glycine (amino acid) + its sodium salt, disodium inosinate (nucleotide salt), 5’-Ribonnucleotide salts (nucleotide salt)
What is an example of nucleotide salt?
disodium inosinate, 5’-Ribonnucleotide salts
What are some examples of sweet taste enhancers?
table sugar (sucrose), sugar alcohols, aspartame (is a dipeptide)
Example of sugar alcohols?
(reduced form of sugars, can’t be digested) xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, lactitol, maltitol
use of aspartame over standard sugar?
Aspartame has a 180-200 sweetening power > sugar
What does heating food up have an effect on taste?
Taste buds are more sensitive at 20-30 degrees Celcius, enhancing flavor and taste perception
What factors affect taste?
temperature (warmer more flavor), moisture (easy to dissolve and spread flavor over tongue), age (older less flavor perceived), health condition, appearance & color can have cultural connotations
How many olfactory cells do humans have?
20 million (humans can only smell about 2000-4000 odors, if trained maybe 10,000) (rabbits have 100 million cells)
Classification of odors?
spicy, flowery, fruity, resinous, burnt and foul
How is food texture measured?
how the food responses when subjected to forces such as cutting, shearing or pulling (food rheology).
describe mouthfeel?
coarse (grainy, sandy), crisp, fine, dry, moist, greasy, smooth (creamy, velvety), lumpy, rough, sticky, solid, porous, bubbly, etc
meat tenderness?
how easily food gives way to pressure from teeth
What is sensory evaluation?
subjective analysis to measure responses of
people to food products as perceived by their senses of sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing.
How is taste evaluated
sensory evaluation(subjective): Difference test, affective (preference) test, descriptive test
Objective: spectrometer, viscometer, microscope, penetrometer
What is flavor?
multi-sensory integration of odor, taste, mout-feel, and eating sounds
