As a unique beverage variety, suspension fruit drink has many excellent sensory effects and characteristics, such as strong sense of reality, unique appearance, rich in nutrients, convenient to drink, etc., so it is favored by the majority of consumers.
In the actual production, as a suspension agent, the following conditions must be met: First, meet the safety requirements of food additives; Second, it has good flavor release performance and excellent taste; Third, it has superior resistance to acid heat decomposition; Fourth, strong water resistance; Fifth, it has a higher gel temperature point, which is convenient for process operation; Sixth, the amount of consumption is provincial, with good economic performance.
Agar Agar has less gel strength and viscosity in a solution with a lower pH, and as the pH value increases, the gel strength and viscosity increase, and the solution viscosity is greatest when the pH is 6-11. The gel strength and viscosity of the agar solution decrease with the increase of the duration of high temperature, and after the duration of high temperature exceeds 5 hours, the viscosity of the solution is small and cannot form gel.
Therefore, strict mastery of the process temperature and duration of high temperature, the selection of the appropriate sour agent and pH value are the key to the success or failure of agar suspension.
At the same time, the addition of CMC will also have a greater impact on the gel strength and fluidity of agar, with agar-CMC as the main suspension agent of the beverage, the fluidity and stability of the solution is relatively good, transparent and not easy to precipitate the gel, showing better combination synergy, the product is clear and transparent, good stability.
Carrageenan studies have shown that the suspension effect of carrageenan K-type, carrageenan-locust bean gum-K type, carrageenan-konjac gum-K type compound is the most ideal, and the latter two show good combination synergy. When carrageenan K-type is mixed with konjac gum and locust bean gum within a certain concentration range, the gel strength will be significantly improved. Carrageenan type I also has a more ideal suspension effect, but its current market price is higher, and its application as a suspension agent is limited.
Carrageenan is used in suspended beverages in 0.1%-0.4%, K+ is 0.2%, ca2+ is 0.2%.
Sodium alginate Simple use of sodium alginate on the suspension stabilization effect of juice cells is not ideal, the use of several colloids of mixed use, such as sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose or gelatin mixing effect is better.
Xanthan gum - mannan Xanthan gum has the same promoting effect as mannan, such as locust bean gum, guar gum and so on. When xanthan gum is mixed with mannan, the viscosity of the mixture is significantly increased compared to when any of them are present alone. This property allows xanthan gum to be used as a suspension agent for fruit-grain beverages.
Xanthan gum and mannan are widely used in suspended beverages with the combination of xanthan gum - konjac gum and xanthan gum - locust bean gum.
Xanthan gum and konjac gum are non-gel polysaccharides, but the two are mixed in a certain proportion can produce synergistic effects, to obtain a gel, when the mass ratio of xanthan gum and konjac gum is 7:3. The total content is 1.0%, the synergistic effect reaches the maximum.
Locust bean gum is a plant seed gum produced in the Mediterranean region of locust tree seeds processed, is a semi-lactose and mannose residues as the structural unit of polysaccharide compounds, monomer does not gel. When the ratio of locust bean gum to xanthan gum is 2:8, the viscosity of the mixture is the highest, and its co-efficacy is the best. Locust bean gum and xanthan gum have strong synergistic thickening, and the viscosity of the compound glue increases with the increase of colloidal content.
Low-ester pectin Pectin is a kind of plant gum extracted from citrus peel, with polygalacturonic acid as the basic skeleton of polymer polysaccharide, according to the different degrees of carboxyl esterification of galaccuronic acid in its molecules, it is divided into high ester (HMP) pectin (esterification degree > 50%) and low ester (LMP) pectin (esterification degree < 50%).
Among them, LMP pectin is a polysaccharide with relatively stable acidity, and the gel strength and viscosity are the greatest when the pH is around 3.1. Therefore, when using LMP pectin as a stabilizer, the pH should be lowered as much as possible without affecting the taste of the suspended beverage. The advantage of LMP pectin for suspension drinks is that the taste is bright, smooth, and acid resistant, suitable for use in acidic drinks, the disadvantage is that the amount of addition is large, and the price is high.
Gelling gum There are two types of gelatin gelatin: high-acyl gelatin and low-acyl gelatin. Treating high-acyl gelatin with a pH of 10 gelatin yields a low-acyl gelatin, and the gel formed by the low-acyl gel is strong and brittle, similar to agar.
Low acyl gel can maintain good fluidity and suspension capacity of the beverage, and it is also stable under acidic conditions, so it has a good application value in the fruit grain suspension beverage. The gel of high acyl gel is soft and elastic, and its gel texture is adapted to the needs of many food products. In dairy suspension, high-acyl gelatin plays a good suspension role in the rheological properties at low concentrations, and is widely used in dairy suspended pulp, cocoa powder, etc. Due to the advantages of high acyl gelatin saving, high gel temperature point, anti-precipitation, no wall hanging, etc., it is currently widely used in "fruit milk" suspended beverages.
In fact, in order to completely and efficiently solve the problems existing in the production process of suspension fruit grain beverages, it is also necessary to develop a new suspension agent with high acid heat degradation resistance, high gel temperature point, no impact on the flavor of the beverage, and strong water resistance. The development and application of new colloids and the organic compounding of various colloids help to obtain satisfactory products, which is the future research and development direction of suspension fruit beverages.
(Source: Food Raw Material Supply and Demand Service)