Inhomogeneous Spatial Distribution of Aroma Compounds in Food Gels for Enhancement of Perceived Aroma Intensity and Muscle Activity during Oral Processing

Effects of inhomogeneous spatial aroma distribution in food gels were investigated for the enhancement of perceived intensity and the muscle activity during oral processing. A polysaccharide mixture was used as the gel matrix, in which small cubes from the same gelling agent were dispersed at 50% weight ratio. Degree of inhomogeneous spatial aroma distribution was arranged by its concentration in both the matrix and the dispersed gels although the overall aroma concentration within one gel sample was constant. There were no differences in mechanical properties between structured gel samples. A greater degree of inhomogeneous spatial aroma distribution increased perceived intensity, increased the duration of oral processing and the suprahyoid musculature activity, decreased the particle size of the expectorated bolus before swallowing, and increased the saliva content in the bolus using healthy adults as subjects. Importance of food structure design for enhanced perceived aroma intensity and human eating behavior was suggested. Practical Application Results from this study can contribute to the food structure design, particularly for foods for the elderly or people with chewing and swallowing difficulties, because the texturally soft gels used can serve as a model of these foods in that they do not necessarily require chewing for size reduction and are often easy to form a bolus before swallowing. Because of some heterogeneity of food structure (fabricated by bi‐phase gel in this study), perceived aroma intensity is increased, and people eat proactively. Gel technology that stimulates the five human senses may be a key for food texture innovation, for which the manufacturers should manipulate gelling and thickening polysaccharides as a texture modifier.