Effects of bed volumes and moisture contents on the textural parameters of individual puffed cereal particles

This work is an investigation of the effects of bed volumes and moisture contents on the textural properties of puff cereals. The first study, two commercial puffed cereals were compressed both individually and in cells of different diameters and heights. Their force-displacement curves were jagged, irregular and irreproducible. The jaggedness of those curves were expressed in terms of their apparent fractal dimension determined from the Richardson plot and the box counting (Kolmogorov dimension) and in term of the mean magnitude of their Fourier power spectrum of their normalized residuals. Three dimensional plots of jaggedness measures versus cell diameter and height produced approximately planar relationship and could be described by the non linear models. Their extrapolation to the individual particle characteristic dimension gave jaggedness values in agreement with those determined experimentally on the individually particle. These results indicated that at least in a certain cereal products, it is possible to assess the brittleness of individual particles from their bulk compressibility pattern. Moreover, this procedure could also be used to estimate the particle stiffness expressed in terms of the fitted force at preselected displacement level (e.g. 15% or 25%) or in terms of the slope of peak force-displacement curve. The second study was moisture content effects on the textural properties of three puffed cereals having various moisture contents. The jaggedness of the force displacement relationship of these cereals was determined in terms of the apparent fractal dimension and the mean magnitude of the power spectrum of their normalized residuals. The plots of these jaggedness measures versus moisture contents yielded a characteristic sigmoid shape very similar to the plots of corresponding sensory crispness or crunchiness versus moisture contents relationships. This close similarity illustrates that the jaggedness measures of the force displacement relationship is manifestation of the same failure events that produce the crispness and crunchiness sensation. In all three products, moisture toughening were detected instrumentally but only in two products, moisture toughening was a clearly corresponding increase in the sensory hardness scores. This indicates that at least in certain cereal products moisture toughening can be perceived simultaneously with brittleness loss

Consumption Behavior, Need and Factors Influencing Buying Decision on Soy and Soy Germ Products of Menopausal Women in Thailand

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to investigate 1) the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and methods for alleviation of menopausal symptoms, 2) the consumption behavior and needs of menopausal women, and 3) the factors influencing a consumerûs buying decision on soy and soy germ products. The research was undertaken by collecting data from various sources and interviews with questionnaires of 402 menopausal women aged between 40 and 59 years. The result showed that the five most common symptoms were tiredness (81.1%), forgetfulness (77.6%), dry skin (75.4%), headache (72.9%), and aching in muscles and joints (70.1%). Most respondents alleviated menopausal symptoms by exercising the body and brain (54.5%) and eating phytoestrogen products (30.1%). The top five soy products usually consumed by respondents were 1) pasteurized or UHT soymilk (85.8%), 2) soft/silk tofu (68.4%), 3) tofu milk (57.0%), 4) tofu with ginger syrup (55.7%), and 5) firm tofu (48.0%). The respondents consumed soy and soy germ products 1›2 times per week (37.1%) and normally purchased from markets or open markets (87.1%). The reasons given for consuming soy and soy germ products were nutrition value and medicinal properties. The respondents rated the importance levels of eleven variables influencing a consumerûs buying decision. Meanwhile, a factor analysis technique classified these variables into four factors which in total explained a cumulative variance of 67.37 percent. The four factors were 1) a product and price factor, describing product appearance, taste and price; 2) a marketing factor describing brand, convenient buying and advertising; 3) a package factor describing packaging and the size of the package; and 4) a health factor describing nutrition value, medicinal properties and product safety. This exploratory study was conducted to get a better understanding of menopausal womenûs behavior. For the development of soy germ products, the respondents were interested in soy germ products containing isoflavones (87.6%). They suggested that soy germ products should be developed in a beverage category (57.7%) and a supplementary food category (25.3%)

Ethnic food awareness and perceptions of consumers in Thailand and the United States.

Purpose – The main purpose of the study was to determine the awareness towards ethnic foods made with traditional spices among U.S. and Thai consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Data on the awareness and use of ethnic cuisines and spices was collected from 100 consumers in a Midwestern university town in the United States and 100 consumers in Bangkok, Thailand. Consumers were also asked to identify ethnic spice blends by tasting spice blends in rice and they ranked the perceived health benefits of 15 ethnic cuisines. Findings – The results showed that more Thai consumers (94%) shop at ethnic grocery stores than US consumers (55%). Also, Thai consumers are more likely to consume ethnic foods from nearby countries, but US consumers have tried a greater variety of ethnic foods. Neither group generally was able to identify a cuisines based only on the spice flavors, although, Thai consumers were slightly better at doing so. Asian cuisines were perceived to have the greatest health benefits to both American and Thai consumers. Originality/value – The consumption of ethnic foods is on the rise around the world as consumers seek new food experiences and diversity in their diets. Manufacturers are using these traditional spices to convey an “ethnic” and “healthy” profile to their foods

Cultural influences on the beliefs about nutritional value of rice

Cultural influences on the beliefs about nutritional value of rice. the 5. european conference on Sensory and consumer researc

Pasting properties by near-infrared reflectance analysis of whole grain paddy rice samples

A rapid predictive method based on near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) of paddy rice was developed to measure the pasting properties of rice. The paddy rice samples were scanned by a near-infrared reflectance spectrometer in the wavelength region of 1400–2400 nm and preprocessed by mathematical pretreatments prior to pasting properties analysis using a rapid visco-analyzer (RVA). The results indicated that the developed models of setback (SB), peak viscosity (PV), breakdown (BD) and consistency (CS) provided good prediction results with relatively high correlation coefficients (0.81–0.96). In addition, the validity of the calibration models was statistically tested. Standard error of prediction (SEP) and bias were small enough without any significance at 95% confidence interval. Nonetheless, this study proved that the use of NIRS for predicting pasting properties was feasible in paddy rice and could be applied in commercial trade and research

How can we communicate sensory characteristics of food in different languages and cultures? The case study of cooked rise

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Understanding the effect of culture on food representations using word associations: The case of "rice" and "good rice"

Clef UT:000326427100006International audienceConsumers' perception toward rice was studied using a word association task in Korea, Japan, Thailand and France. A total of 195 participants from four countries were asked to indicate all the words that came to their minds when the stimulus words, "rice" and "good rice" were verbally presented. Frequencies of elicited words were counted and these words were grouped in different categories by triangulation. Some similarities and differences were observed among countries. French participants tended to associate "rice" more frequently with concepts such as foreign countries, culture, travel and exoticism. Participants in Asian countries tended to associate it more frequently with concepts such as agricultural products, necessary goods, and emotions. Framed into the triadic approach of consumption, these results indicate that symbolic motivation is more important for French participants and utilitarian and experiential motivations are more important for Asian participants in rice consumption. For good rice, all participants elicited terms linked to taste, health and process. However the relative importance of these categories of terms differed between countries. Health was more considered by Korean and Thai participants and cooking process was more considered by French and Japanese participants. Agricultural process was frequently cited by Korean and Japanese participants. Results showed that there are clear cultural differences in terms of utilitarian and symbolic motivations to consume rice as well as on the relative importance of the main quality criteria associated with rice. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

How does culture affects the belief on rice cooking? Cross cultural study among Korea, Japan, Thailand and France

How does culture affects the belief on rice cooking? Cross cultural study among Korea, Japan, Thailand and France. 9. Pangborn sensory science symposiu

Consumers' attitude towards rice cooking processes in Korea, Japan, Thailand and France

UT: 000317947100009International audienceConcerns and attitudes towards nutrition, health, safety, commodity, and sensory appeal are the factors determining cooking processes in one's everyday life. A picture-word matching task was conducted in order to compare consumer's opinion on seven common rice-cooking processes (rinsing, soaking, adding other kinds of rice, cereals, and beans, brown rice germination, rapid-boiling, pressure-cooking, and steaming) in Korea, Japan, Thailand, and France. The results showed that, in each country, the more familiar a cooking process is, the more it is associated with sensory quality. Pressure-cooking, soaking and rapid-boiling were positively matched with sensory aspects in Korea, Japan, and France, respectively. Although Thai participants had positive beliefs on sensory aspects toward rapid-boiling and steaming process, they haven't been using these two methods frequently because of negative opinion and attitude toward its commodity. Health and nutritional aspects of germination of brown rice and adding other types of rice, cereals, and beans processes were perceived positively among Korean and Japanese participants, and to a lesser extent among Thai participants. The results of this study provided information for better understanding the effect of culture on the representations linked to rice-cooking processes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Cross-cultural differences in consumer quality perception of rice

International audienceMost aspects of food product quality perception are culture-bound. We present a cross-cultural study aiming at understandinghow consumers from four countries (French, Japanese, Korean and Thai) perceive, describe and appreciate rice and ricequality. Marked differences were found in participants' motivation to consume rice: sensory and commodity in France; sensoryand health in Japan; nutrition and commodity in Thailand; and nutrition, health and safety in Korea. For the description of ricequalities, despite a few cultural differences, especially between Korean and Thai descriptions of white and brown rice samples,similar sensory profiles were obtained in the four countries. In all countries germinated rice samples were less appreciatedthan the other samples. A preference mapping combining descriptive and liking data showed that, contrary to what weexpected, preference of Japanese consumers were closer to that of French consumers than to that of other Asian consumers.This study suggests that cultural differences in food product quality perception might be more driven by motivation than byperception and that geographical proximity is not a good predictor of quality perception