Texture Preferences of Chinese, Korean and US Consumers: A Case Study with Apple and Pear Dried Fruits

Effects of Various Flavors of Baijiu on the Microbial Communities, Metabolic Pathways, and Flavor Structures of Dongbei Suancai

This study aimed to assess the effects of Chinese Baijiu with different flavors as supplementary material on microbial communities and flavor formation during inoculated fermentation of Chinese Dongbei Suancai. The results showed that the addition of Fen flavor Baijiu significantly increased the relative abundance of Candida, Luzhou flavor Baijiu increased the relative abundance of Pedobacter and Hannaella, while Maotai flavor Baijiu increased the Chryseobacterium and Kazachstania. A total of 226 volatile metabolites were detected in Suancai fermented when adding different flavors of Baijiu. Furthermore, the significantly upregulated metabolites (p < 0.01) of Suancai after adding Baijiu increased by 328.57%, whereas the significantly downregulated metabolites decreased by 74.60%. Simultaneously, the addition of Baijiu promoted the synthesis and decomposition of amino acids and short-chain fatty acids in the early and middle stages of fermentation. Further, Maotai flavor Baijiu improved the diversification of metabolic pathways in the late stage of Suancai fermentation. The E-nose response showed that sulfur-organic, broad-alcohol, sulfur-chlor was the principal differential flavor in Suancai caused by adding Baijiu with different flavors. Simultaneously, Fen flavor Baijiu and Luzhou flavor Baijiu accelerated the formation of the Suancai flavor. These results indicated that Baijiu with different flavors had significant effects on the flavor formation of inoculated fermented Suancai.

Food-Oral Processing: Current Progress, Future Directions, and Challenges

Oral processing refers to the series of physical, chemical, and biological processes inside the oral cavity when we consume food. This process affects the taste, quality, and nutrient absorption of the body. In the human diet, oral processing plays a crucial role because it impacts not only the food flavor and texture but also the absorption and utilization of nutrients. With the progress of science and technology and the increasing demand for food, the study of oral processing has become increasingly important. This paper reviews the history and definition of oral processing, its current state of research, and its applications in food science and technology, focusing on personalized taste customization, protein structure modification, food intake and nutrition, and bionic devices. It also analyzes the impact of oral processing on different types of food products and explores its potential in the food industry and science research.

Effects of inoculation with a binary mixture of Lactobacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc citreum on cell wall components of Chinese Dongbei suancai

This study aimed to investigate the effects of inoculation with a starter culture consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum LNJ002 and Leuconostoc citreum BNCC 194779 on microbial community, cell wall polysaccharide characteristics, cell wall degrading enzymes, and microstructure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. The results showed that Lactobacillus (98.75%) was the dominant genus during fermentation of Dongbei suancai. The principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) suggested that inoculation with Lactobacillus promoted the stability of microbial community structure during Chinese Dongbei suancai fermentation. Besides, the lower content in cellulose (80.28 ± 2.61 ug/mg) and pectin (53.56 ± 2.67 ug/mg) observed in the inoculated fermented suancai. Simultaneously, the inoculated fermented suancai had the most decreases in SR 1 (70.35%) and SR 3 (72.06%) and the most increase in SR 2 (950%), which suggested that inoculation intensified the decrease of the linearity and the RG-1 branching degree of pectin. The contents of polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) in inoculated fermented suancai were 21.06% and 21.86% higher than those in naturally fermented suancai. In addition, the surface of suancai leaves gradually changed from smooth to rough during fermentation, which was accelerated by inoculation. Moreover, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, Wallemia and Mucor were all negatively correlated with cellulose and GalA. These results revealed that inoculation promoted the formation of dominant genus structure during suancai fermentation, changed the effects of enzymes on the degradation of cell wall components, thereby accelerated the formation of Chinese Dongbei suancai texture.

Effective moisture diffusivity prediction in two Portuguese fruit cultivars (Bravo de Esmolfe apple and Madeira banana) using drying kinetics data

Air convective dehydration was performed at various temperatures (35 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C) using two types of fruits cultivars produced in different regions of Portugal: the Bravo de Esmolfe apple, from the Beiras province, and the Cavendish banana, from Madeira Island. The data collected were used to predict the effective moisture diffusion, which is a crucial input parameter in drying modeling and design. As expected, the values obtained in both falling drying rate periods detected for apples increased with an increase in drying temperature. The effective moisture diffusion in apples varied from 1.968 × 10^-10 m² s^-1 at 35 °C to 4.013 × 10^-10 m² s^-1 at 50 °C, for the first falling drying rate period, and from 0.9567 × 10^-10 m² s^-1 at 35 °C to 3.328 × 10^-10 m² s^-1 at 50 °C, for the second period. The dependence of effective moisture diffusion on temperature for bananas is similar, ranging from 1.572 × 10^-10 to 2.627 × 10^-10 m² s^-1 as the drying temperature changed from 35 to 50 °C.

Food Handling Practices for Apple Drying in Home Kitchens in the United States: A Survey

ABSTRACT

Fruit drying has traditionally received little food safety attention in spite of Salmonella outbreaks and recalls involving low-moisture foods. This study was conducted to assess the food safety implications during the home drying process, with dried apples as an example. A cohort of home apple dryers (n = 979) participated in an online survey through Qualtrics XM in May 2021. The results showed that participants' knowledge of safe food handling practices regarding dried fruit was low. On average, participants used only 8 of 18 identified food safety practices during apple drying. The survey revealed inadequate frequency of hand washing during apple preparation, potential points of cross-contamination from kitchen tools, lack of hurdle technology without a pretreatment step, failure to incorporate a thermal kill step during drying, and a lack of objective measurements to ensure that target parameters are attained. Participants mainly pretreated apples for sensory improvement instead of microbial reduction. When presented with some benefits of pretreatment, participants who did not pretreat their apples considered doing so to kill bacteria. The use of safe food handling practices differed within demographic groups. Participants 18 to 39 years old (mean = 7.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.26, 7.67) and 40 to 59 years old (mean = 7.43; 95% CI = 7.16, 7.70) reported using fewer safe practices than did those >60 years old (mean = 8.49; 95% CI = 8.22, 8.75), and participants who identified as male (mean = 7.38; 95% CI = 7.16, 7.60) reported using fewer safe practices than did those identifying as female (mean = 7.92; 95% CI = 7.74, 8.11). The findings of this study provide food handling data to support the development of more accurate food safety risk assessment models and to guide the development of food safety education for consumers who dehydrate produce in the home.

HIGHLIGHTS

Understanding Apple Attribute Preferences of US Consumers

Apple preferences of US consumers are widely explored. However, the key factors that drive the importance that US consumers place on apple attributes are rather unexplored. To fill this literature gap, an online survey with 383 US apple buyers was conducted. A two-step analysis consisting of descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modelling indicates that subjective knowledge was the most important factor, determining both the discernment of buyers and attitudes towards US fruit growers. Objective knowledge and sociodemographic factors, other than education, were not found to have any impact. The discernment of a buyer and their ability to distinguish apple varieties had the greatest impact on the importance that US consumers placed on physical and commercial product attributes. It was also found that attitudes towards growers impacted on the importance which consumers place on both types of attributes. Given that consumer attitudes were shown to be a strong driver of their buying preferences, growers and grower associations should also consider highlighting the positive health and societal benefits that their products provide.

Sarcocornia perennis: A Salt Substitute in Savory Snacks

Salt is the primary source of sodium in the human diet, and it is associated with hypertension and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. A growing interest in halophyte plants and food products containing this type of ingredient have been observed, to reduce the NaCl daily intake. In the present work, Sarcocornia perennis was incorporated as a food ingredient into crackers to replace the salt (NaCl) and to evaluate its impact on physical properties, water activity, nutritional composition, mineral profile, total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and sensory evaluation. Concentrations of powder dried S. perennis from 1 to 10% were tested by replacing the initial salt content and adjusting the flour incorporation to the initial formulation. The incorporation of S. perennis had no relevant impact on cracker firmness, but it induced an increase in their crispness. Furthermore, the incorporation of this halophyte originated darker crackers, which was revealed by a decrease of L* and an increase of b* values. In terms of nutritional composition, the incorporation of S. perennis leads to the improvement of the snack's nutritional profile, namely in terms of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and minerals, highlighting the high content in potassium, magnesium, and phosphor. Crackers with a content of 5% of S. perennis were sensorily well accepted and this level should be considered the limit of incorporation accepted by the panelists. However, by substituting 1% NaCl for an equal amount of S. perennis, it is possible to obtain a 70% reduction in sodium content, which is an important contribution to reducing the overall salt content of the diet.

Consumer preference for dried mango attributes: A conjoint study among Dutch, Chinese, and Indonesian consumers

Abstract

One way to add value to tropical fruit and increase its availability in the global market is to develop new, less perishable, products from fresh fruit. The purpose of this study is to compare the perception of key quality attributes and preferences of dried mango between consumers with different familiarity and health consciousness. This study surveyed respondents from China, Indonesia, and the Netherlands via an adaptive choice‐based conjoint method (n = 483) to evaluate intrinsic quality attributes that influenced consumer preference for dried mango. Consumers in different countries have different texture, taste, and color preferences for dried mango. The most important attribute for the Dutch and Chinese was “free from extra ingredients”, while for Indonesians, it was the texture. Familiarity with dried mango and health consciousness do not influence consumer preference of intrinsic attributes of dried mango. Different preferences of intrinsic attributes of dried mango between countries are related to cultural differences. This study provides useful insights for food manufacturers into the significance of key intrinsic quality attributes in developing dried mango.

Practical Application

Intrinsic quality parameters of dried mango are not perceived in the same way by every consumer and this is related to cultural differences. Crispy texture is important only for Indonesian consumers, while “free from extra ingredients” is the most important for Dutch and Chinese consumers. This information is relevant when developing dried mango products for the respective markets.