Glossary of food & beverage ingredient terms
All
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Humectancy |
Ability of a substance to hold into moisture. Increased humectancy prevents staling in baked products and provides foods with soft, moist eating quality. |
| Hydration |
the process of the starch granule taking up and binding water as it swealls when heated in water. |
| Hydrogenation |
The chemical transformation of reducing sugars into the analagous polyol. For example transforming dextrose into sorbitol. |
| Hydrophobic starch |
Starch which has been chemically modified to give a hydrophobic character. An example is the ester starch n-Octenyl Succinate made by treating starch with n-Octenyl Succinic anhydride. This is used as a food starch e.g. for emulsion stabilization. |
| Hygroscopicity |
Ability of a substance to absorb and react with moisture from ambient air. |
| Instantize |
a physical starch modification process that produces pre-gelatinized and cold water swelling or granular starches. Instant starches when mixed with water or other liquids develop viscosity "instantly" or within minutes without heating or cooking. Examples of foods containing instant starches are instant pudding and sauce mixes. |
| Lipophilic |
having a strong affinity for fats and oils. Lipophilic starches are used, for example, to encapsulate flavor oils and emulsify beverage flavors. |
| Long (texture) |
The textural attribute of a food product that exhibits stringiness. Examples include cheese sauce, syrups and certain pourable salad dressings. |
| Maltodextrins |
hydrolyzed starch products that are partially or completely soluble. They are less hydrolyzed or have higher molecular weights than corn (glucose) syrups and are more viscous. Maltodextrins are good flavor carriers and are used to provide "mouthfeel" and viscosity for may foods and beverages. Maltodextrins are classified as having a dextrose equivalent of less than 20. |
| Moisture content |
The moisture content at which commercial starches are sold is related to the natural equilibrium moisture content of the particular starch. For example cornstarch is usually supplied at 11% - 13% moisture whereas potato starch has 18% - 20% moisture. Specially-dried starches are available to meet specific requirements with moisture contents below these levels however special storage conditions and packaging are needed to avoid moisture pick-up from the atmosphere. |
| Molding starch |
Starch, usually with low levels of added oil, which is applied by spraying. This starch has deliberately-induced poor flow properties and therefore retains an impression. It is used as depositing medium for molded candies and gum confectionary. White mineral oil was originally used to prepare molding starch and the mineral oil-based product continues to be available. Vegetable oil-based molding starches were developed and are also available commercially. |
| Mouthfeel |
The textures and sensory attributes exhibited within the mouth upon eating. Although subjective, mouthfeel characteristics grealy impact consumer acceptability of a food product. |
| Native starch |
Starch recovered in the original form (i.e unmodified by extraction from any starch-bearing material. Oftern used to distinguish native unmodified starch that has undergone physical or chemical modification. |
| Organoleptic properties |
Those properties of a foodstuff or food ingredient that are perceived in the mouth during consumption. The properties include taste, mouthfeel, consistency, texture, chewability, stickiness etc. etc. Ideally the starch component of a food formulation should contribute no flavor at all; this is not its function. Crosslinking has a profound effect on starch paste texture; crosslinked starches generally have a short stringless consistency. Sweetness is the predominant organoleptic property of glucose syrups. |
| Oxidation |
a chemical starch modification process. Oxidation whitens or bleaches the starch, lowers the viscosity, provides viscosity stability by minimizing retrogradation of dent starches, reduces microbial load and improves adhesive properties. Slightly oxidized starches are used by the food industry in batters and breadings, retort applications and tableting. |