DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF CARAMEL TEXTURE1

Abstract

ABSTRACTOral sensory evaluation of caramel texture was conducted using six texture terms and results were compared to instrumental testing of texture. Trained panelists (n = 11) evaluated 6 caramel formulations by descriptive analysis. Mean texture values indicated that a slight increase in sweetened condensed skim milk and vegetable fat content (1% w/w at a 2:1 ratio) significantly decreased stickiness (P≤ 0.05). Decreasing corn syrup dextrose equivalent (DE) decreased stickiness and increased hardness (P≤ 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficients revealed that stickiness to teeth while chewing, toothpacking, and tooth adhesiveness were highly correlated with one another (P≤ 0.05). Sensory hardness, cohesiveness, and number of chews were correlated with the rheological properties of storage modulus and viscosity, while stickiness was correlated with probe tack force (P≤ 0.05). Such correlations show that fundamental rheological and tack force measurements can be used to help determine molecular mechanisms for sensory texture and stickiness.