Sensorially and instrumentally detected antiplastizicing effect of water in cornflakes

Abstract

Textural properties are key drivers for food acceptability (Chauvin et al. 2008). In low-moisture cereal foods, quality depends mainly on textural attributes like crispness (Fontanet et al. 1997). Water is one of the most important factors affecting texture of low-moisture foods, and its effect has been extensively studied (Labuza et al. 1970; Roos et al. 1996; Peleg 1998; Jacoby and King 2001; Lewicki 2004; Castro-Prada et al. 2009). It is also known that water affects glass transition temperature (Chen et al. 1997), which is widely used in assessing stability (Roos 2010). In order to measure water mobility in complex and heterogeneous systems, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been widely used (Chinachoti et al. 2006). On the other hand, in low-moisture starchy food, other processes that take place at glassy state, such as physical aging and toughening, could affect textural properties (Suwonsichon and Peleg 1998; Chang et al. 2000; Chung and Lim 2004).