RELATIONS BETWEEN RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES, SALIVA‐INDUCED STRUCTURE BREAKDOWN AND SENSORY TEXTURE ATTRIBUTES OF CUSTARDS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The relevance of initial rheological properties and mechanical and enzymatic structure breakdown in determining selected sensory texture attributes of custards was studied. The so‐called structure breakdown cell was used to characterize saliva‐induced breakdown, i.e., by monitoring digestion of starch by amylase from saliva. Based on rheological parameters, some attributes could be predicted well, while others more poorly or were not predicted. Predictable attributes were primarily determined by bulk properties; poorly and nonpredictable attributes originated from properties of the outer low‐viscosity surface layers or were not related to rheological properties. Both mechanical and enzymatic breakdown were important for creaminess, thickness and melting. Enzymatic breakdown was the dominant mechanism involved in the perception of fattiness, roughness and stickiness but not heterogeneity. Creaminess was the only attribute that was also determined by initial rheological properties and mechanical and enzymatic breakdown. Custards displaying high creaminess ratings had high initial stiffness, the structure broke down at low stress and enzymatic breakdown was slow. Microstructural organization of starch plays a dominating role in defining rheological and breakdown behavior of custards and in this way determines creaminess to a high extent.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSBreakdown during eating is a complex process. In the work presented, breakdown of a semisolid food system is unravelled and linked to its microstructure and sensory perception. It is demonstrated that it is possible to reasonably predict sensory mouthfeel properties, especially the important attribute, creaminess, based on data from instrumental techniques. The knowledge obtained could be applied to high throughput screening of newly developed food products without the need of involving sensory panels. This will enable the food industry to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and control of sensory attributes throughout the food product development process.