Method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances and juice

Abstract

The present application relates to a method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn juice by using sweet aroma substances and the juice. By studying the cross-modal perception interaction of aroma-taste, the present application uses the perception interaction of limonene, ethyl acetate, eugenol and sucrose with sweet aroma properties to realize the improvement of the sweetness perception intensity in the clarified hawthorn juice, thereby effectively controlling the sucrose concentration in the juice, achieving the purpose of "reducing sugar and increasing sweetness", and also being able to enrich the aroma of the hawthorn juice. Compared with the prior art, the limonene, ethyl acetate and eugenol used in the present application are all natural and healthy food-grade flavors, which can avoid the excessive intake of "high sugar" juice beverages by consumers and thereby cause adverse effects on health, and also provide theoretical support for the research and development of low-sugar juice.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of food processing technology, and in particular relates to a method and juice for enhancing the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn juice by utilizing aroma substances with sweet and fragrant properties. Background Technology

[0002] Hawthorn, a traditional fruit used in both medicine and food, is rich in organic acids, flavonoids, and other nutrients and functional components. Hawthorn juice is popular among consumers due to its rich nutrition, unique flavor, and digestive properties. However, hawthorn juice is quite acidic, requiring the addition of a large amount of sugar to balance the taste. Directly and drastically reducing the amount of added sugar can lead to an increase in unpleasant flavors such as sourness and astringency. Excessive consumption of "high-sugar" fruit juice can also have adverse effects on consumers' health, increasing the probability of developing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, thereby affecting consumers' purchasing intentions.

[0003] In recent years, the domestic and international market demand for fruit juice beverages has been continuously increasing, and "sugar reduction" has become a bottleneck for the development of the fruit juice industry. With consumers' growing health awareness, the development of healthy and delicious fruit juices has become a core competitive advantage for the industry. Currently, most fruit juice beverages on the market achieve sugar reduction by directly lowering sugar levels, eliminating added sugar, or adding sugar substitutes such as aspartame and sucralose. For consumers, directly lowering or eliminating added sugar can severely affect the flavor of fruit juice beverages, and the safety of some sweeteners has been consistently controversial. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a healthy, safe method for reducing sugar without affecting the original flavor of fruit juice beverages. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Given that existing technologies require the addition of large amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners to balance the taste of hawthorn juice, and that frequent consumption of "high-sugar" juice can lead to various diseases, this invention provides a method and juice for enhancing the perception of sweetness in clarified hawthorn juice by utilizing aroma substances with sweet and fragrant properties.

[0005] The objective of this invention can be achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] This invention provides a method for enhancing the perceived sweetness of clarified hawthorn juice using aroma compounds with sweet properties, the method comprising the following steps:

[0007] S1: Wash the hawthorn berries, remove the stems and pits;

[0008] S2: Boil an appropriate amount of water, then add the hawthorn fruit obtained after step S1 to blanch it, soften the fruit tissue, and increase the juice yield.

[0009] S3: After the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S2 has cooled naturally, pectinase is added for enzymatic hydrolysis to further improve the juice yield;

[0010] S4: Centrifuge and filter the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S3;

[0011] S5: Add appropriate amounts of sugar and edible flavoring to the clarified hawthorn juice obtained in step S4 to adjust the flavor;

[0012] S6: The hawthorn juice obtained in step S5 is put into sterile bottles for pasteurization. After the treatment is completed, it is bottled while hot in a sterile environment to obtain clear hawthorn juice.

[0013] The edible flavoring is selected from one or a combination of limonene, leaf ester acetate, or eugenol.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S1, fresh, undamaged sweet red hawthorn fruits are selected.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S2, the water is purified water, and the ratio of hawthorn fruit to purified water is 1:2 to 6 (g / mL), for example, 1:4 (g / mL).

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S2, the hot scalding time is 2 to 4 minutes, for example, 2 minutes.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S3, the cooling temperature is the optimal temperature for pectinase hydrolysis, for example, 50°C.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S3, the amount of pectinase added is 0.03% to 0.06% of the obtained fruit pulp in grams, the enzymatic hydrolysis time is 100 to 150 minutes, and the enzymatic hydrolysis temperature is 45 to 55°C. For example, 0.05% pectinase can be added to the fruit pulp and enzymatically hydrolyzed at 50°C for 120 minutes.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S4, the centrifugation conditions are 4000-4500 r / min for 10-20 min, for example, centrifugation at 4200 r / min for 15 min can be selected.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S4, the filtration condition is a 300-mesh filter.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S5, the sugar is sucrose, and the mass percentage of the sucrose used is 5-15% of the obtained hawthorn juice, for example, it can be selected as 5%.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S5, the edible flavoring includes one or more of limonene, leaf ester acetate, and eugenol. The amount of edible flavoring added, in grams, is 0.0001% to 0.1% of limonene, 0.0001% to 0.1% of leaf ester acetate, 0.0001% to 0.1% of eugenol, or a binary or ternary compound flavoring solution thereof, in grams of the filtered hawthorn juice. For example, it can be selected as 0.01% limonene added.

[0023] In one embodiment of the present invention, in step S6, the sterilization bottle is selected as a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bottle, and the pasteurization treatment conditions are: treatment at a temperature of 80-90°C for about 4-6 minutes, for example, sterilization at 85°C for 5 minutes.

[0024] The present invention further provides a clarified hawthorn juice prepared based on the above processing method.

[0025] Current research confirms a sensory interaction between the aroma and taste of food. Studies on enhancing taste through aroma are increasingly common, and the simultaneous enhancement of sweetness perception intensity through cross-modal sensory interactions aligns with the current trend of green, natural, and healthy fruit juice industry development. This invention identifies limonene, eugenol acetate, and eugenol as key aroma compounds contributing to the sweet aroma properties of hawthorn juice. Based on this, this invention provides a method for enhancing the perceived sweetness of clarified hawthorn juice using these aroma compounds. This invention provides a preparation process for clarified hawthorn juice, the sweet aroma flavorings used, and their proportions for improving the flavor of hawthorn juice. This approach has not been reported in existing technologies. The preparation process is simple, the food-grade flavorings used are natural and healthy, and the resulting clarified juice exhibits a significantly enhanced perceived sweetness, achieving a "reduced sugar, increased sweetness" effect. This results in sufficient market competitiveness and is of great significance for promoting the high-value utilization of hawthorn resources and the development of low-sugar fruit juice products.

[0026] Specifically, compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are at least reflected in the following aspects:

[0027] This invention studies the cross-modal sensory interaction between aroma and taste. By utilizing the sensory interaction of sweet-smelling flavorings limonene, leaf ester acetate, eugenol, and sucrose, it enhances the perceived sweetness intensity in clarified hawthorn juice, effectively controlling the sucrose concentration and achieving the goal of "reducing sugar and increasing sweetness." It also enriches the aroma of the hawthorn juice. Compared to existing technologies, the limonene, leaf ester acetate, and eugenol used in this invention are all natural and healthy food-grade flavorings, preventing consumers from consuming excessive amounts of "high-sugar" fruit juice beverages and thus avoiding adverse health effects. This also provides theoretical support for the development of low-sugar fruit juices. Attached Figure Description

[0028] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the processing technology for clarifying hawthorn juice to improve the perception of sweetness according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 1-15 and Comparative Examples 1-3 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are Comparative Examples 1-3 from left to right, and the filled bars are Examples 1-15 from left to right).

[0030] Figure 3 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 16-30 and Comparative Examples 1-3 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are Comparative Examples 1-3 from left to right, and the filled bars are Examples 16-30 from left to right).

[0031] Figure 4 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 31-45 and Comparative Examples 1-3 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are Comparative Examples 1-3 from left to right, and the filled bars are Examples 31-45 from left to right).

[0032] Figure 5 The bar charts show the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 46-47 and Comparative Example 1 of the present invention (the bar without filling is Comparative Example 1, and the bars with filling are Examples 46-47 from bottom to top).

[0033] Figure 6 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 48-53 and Comparative Example 2 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are from left to right Comparative Example 2, and the filled bars are from bottom to top Examples 48-53).

[0034] Figure 7 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 54-62 and Comparative Example 3 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are Comparative Example 3 from left to right, and the filled bars are Examples 54-62 from bottom to top).

[0035] Figure 8 The bar chart shows the sweetness perception intensity of Examples 63-77 and Comparative Examples 1-3 of the present invention (the unfilled bars are Comparative Examples 1-3 from left to right, and the filled bars are Examples 63-77 from left to right). Detailed Implementation

[0036] This invention provides a method for enhancing the perceived sweetness of clarified hawthorn juice using aroma compounds with sweet properties. The process is described in reference [reference needed]. Figure 1 The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The following embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] The experimental materials involved in this invention:

[0038] Limonene, leaf ester acetate, and eugenol were purchased from Wuhan Lanabai Pharmaceutical Chemical Co., Ltd., sucrose from Dafeng Yingmao Sugar Industry Co., Ltd., drinking water was purified water purchased from Guanghua Runyibao Beverage (China) Co., Ltd., and pectinase was purchased from Shandong Qilu Biotechnology Co., Ltd. All materials were food grade.

[0039] The experimental methods involved in this invention are as follows:

[0040] Selection of sensory evaluators: A sensory evaluation team of 20 trained sensory evaluators (10 men and 10 women, aged 20-24) scored the perceived sweetness intensity of the juice samples. The selected sensory evaluators were tested and found to have good taste perception ability and sensory evaluation experience, and were familiar with the sweetness scale (0-9, 10-point scoring system). Juices with only 5%, 10%, and 15% sucrose by mass and no added flavorings were scored as 1, 3, and 7 points respectively for perceived sweetness. Three flavorings were prepared in purified water at the concentrations used in all examples and tested by the sensory evaluators using nose clips; these flavorings were found to have no sweetness.

[0041] Sensory evaluation method: All sensory panel members were required to abstain from irritating foods on the day of the test and to refrain from eating or smoking for 2 hours prior to the test. A 10-point scoring system was used (0: no sweetness, 9: very strong sweetness, with sweetness perception increasing from 0 to 9). 20 mL of each sample was placed in a 50 mL plastic sensory cup. Sensory evaluators were first asked to smell the sample, then pour the entire sample into their mouths and taste it for at least 5 seconds, before scoring the perceived sweetness. Rinsing the mouth with water was required between each sample, with an interval of 120 seconds. The results were the average of the scores from 20 sensory evaluators. All sensory evaluation experiments were conducted at room temperature (20°C).

[0042] Examples 1-77

[0043] The following embodiment provides a method for preparing clarified hawthorn juice, the steps of which are as follows:

[0044] S1: Wash the hawthorn fruit, remove the stems and pits to obtain hawthorn fruit;

[0045] S2: Weigh the hawthorn fruit obtained in S1 and purified water according to the ratio of 1:4 (g / mL). First, boil the purified water, then add the hawthorn fruit and blanch for 2 minutes to soften the fruit and increase the juice yield.

[0046] S3: After the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S2 has cooled naturally to 50°C, add 0.05% by mass of pectinase to the hawthorn pulp obtained in S2 and enzymatically hydrolyze it at 50°C for 120 minutes to further improve the juice yield.

[0047] S4: Add the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S3 to a centrifuge and centrifuge at 4200 r / min for 15 min at room temperature. Take the supernatant and filter it through a 300 mesh filter.

[0048] S5: Add different proportions of sucrose and edible flavoring (one or more of limonene, ethyl acetate, and eugenol) to the clarified hawthorn juice obtained in step S4 to adjust the flavor. The specific proportions are listed in Tables 1 to 8.

[0049] S6: The hawthorn juice obtained in step S5 is put into heat-resistant plastic bottles and sterilized by heating in a water bath at 85°C for 5 minutes. Then, it is bottled while hot in a sterile environment to obtain clear hawthorn juice.

[0050] Comparative Examples 1-3

[0051] The following comparative example provides a method for preparing clarified hawthorn juice, with the following steps:

[0052] S1: Wash the hawthorn fruit, remove the stems and pits to obtain hawthorn fruit;

[0053] S2: Weigh the hawthorn fruit obtained in S1 and purified water according to the ratio of 1:4 (g / mL). First, boil the purified water, then add the hawthorn fruit and blanch for 2 minutes to soften the fruit and increase the juice yield.

[0054] S3: After the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S2 has cooled naturally to 50°C, add 0.05% by mass of pectinase to the hawthorn pulp obtained in S2 and enzymatically hydrolyze it at 50°C for 120 minutes to further improve the juice yield.

[0055] S4: Add the hawthorn pulp obtained in step S3 to a centrifuge and centrifuge at 4200 r / min for 15 min at room temperature. Take the supernatant and filter it through a 300 mesh filter.

[0056] S5: Add different proportions of sucrose to the clarified hawthorn juice obtained in step S4 to adjust the flavor. The specific proportions are listed in Table 8.

[0057] S6: The hawthorn juice obtained in step S5 is put into heat-resistant plastic bottles and sterilized by heating in a water bath at 85°C for 5 minutes. Then, it is bottled while hot in a sterile environment to obtain clear hawthorn juice.

[0058] Table 1. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 1-10

[0059]

[0060] Table 2. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 11-20

[0061]

[0062] Table 3. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 21-30

[0063]

[0064] Table 4. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 31-40

[0065]

[0066] Table 5. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 41-50

[0067]

[0068]

[0069] Table 6. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 51-60

[0070]

[0071] Table 7. Percentage of each component (by mass) in the fruit juices of Examples 61-70

[0072]

[0073] Table 8 shows the percentage (by mass) of each component in the juices of Examples 71-77 and Comparative Examples 1-3.

[0074]

[0075] Results Measurement

[0076] Using the perceived sweetness intensity of Comparative Examples 1-3 as a reference, sensory evaluations of the perceived sweetness intensity of Examples 1-77 were conducted, and the results are as follows: Figures 2-8 As shown.

[0077] Depend on Figure 2 It can be seen that at a 5% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 1, Examples 1-5 can significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice; however, at a 15% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 3, Examples 11-15 cannot significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice; at a 10% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 2, Examples 6 and 7, which added a low concentration of limonene, did not significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice, while Examples 8-10, which added a relatively high concentration of limonene, could still significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice.

[0078] Depend on Figure 3It can be seen that at a 5% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 1, Examples 16-20 can significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice; however, at a 15% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 3, Examples 26 and 27, which added low concentrations of leaf ester acetate, cannot significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice; at a 10% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 2, Examples 21 and 25, which added 0.001% leaf ester acetate, have no significant effect on improving the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice, because according to sensory evaluators, high concentrations of leaf ester acetate have a certain sour taste, thus affecting the perception of sweetness intensity.

[0079] Depend on Figure 4 It can be seen that at a 5% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 1, only Example 35, which added 0.01% eugenol, could not significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice, because according to sensory evaluators, high concentrations of eugenol have a noticeable astringent taste, thus affecting the perception of sweetness intensity. At a 10% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 2, Examples 36 and 40, which added 0.0001% eugenol, could not significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice. At a 15% sucrose concentration, compared with Comparative Example 3, Examples 41 and 42, which added low concentrations of eugenol, did not significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice.

[0080] Therefore, the examples described above, which failed to significantly improve the perceived sweetness intensity of hawthorn juice at the corresponding sucrose concentration, were compounded into a binary solution and added to the juice for further evaluation of sweetness perception intensity. Figure 5 , Figure 6 and Figure 7 It was found that, compared with hawthorn juice at the corresponding sucrose concentration, all binary compound solutions of different concentrations could significantly enhance the perceived sweetness of hawthorn juice (Examples 46-62), compensating for the shortcomings of adding single flavoring solutions of different concentrations. Furthermore, ternary solutions were also compounded and added to the juice for further evaluation of the perceived sweetness. Figure 8It is evident that all ternary compound solutions of different concentrations significantly enhanced the perceived sweetness of hawthorn juice (Examples 63-77), with a better enhancement effect than adding a single solution or a binary compound solution. This also avoided problems such as an overly prominent aroma or poor aroma complexity that can occur with adding a single flavoring solution. Overall, the compound solution using 0.0005%–0.005% eugenol, 0.005%–0.05% limonene, and eugenol acetate showed the best enhancement of the perceived sweetness of hawthorn juice with sucrose concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 15% across all examples. Therefore, adding a certain proportion of limonene, eugenol, and eugenol—three natural flavorings—can improve the overall aroma while simultaneously reducing sugar and increasing sweetness in juices with different sugar contents, providing a reference for the development of low-sugar fruit juice beverages.

[0081] The above description of the embodiments is provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand and use the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to these embodiments, and the general principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without inventive effort. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and any improvements and modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet-odor attribute aroma substances, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: S1: washing and removing the stems and seeds of the hawthorn fruits; S2: boiling water, and then adding the hawthorn fruits obtained after the treatment in step S1 to perform hot water treatment; S3: after the hawthorn fruit pulp obtained in step S2 is naturally cooled, adding pectinase for enzymatic hydrolysis; S4: centrifuging and filtering the hawthorn fruit pulp obtained in step S3; S5: adding sugar and edible essence to the hawthorn juice obtained in step S4; S6: filling the hawthorn juice obtained in step S5 into sterilized bottles to perform pasteurization treatment, and after the treatment is completed, filling the hawthorn juice into bottles in a sterile environment while hot to obtain clarified hawthorn fruit juice with improved sweetness by using sweet and fragrant aroma substances; The edible essence is a combination of limonene, leaf alcohol acetate and eugenol; In step S5, the sugar is sucrose, and the amount of added sucrose is 5-15% of the filtered hawthorn fruit juice by weight; In step S5, the amount of added edible essence is 0.001%-0.1% of limonene, 0.001%-0.1% of leaf alcohol acetate and 0.0001%-0.01% of eugenol of the filtered hawthorn fruit juice by weight.

2. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the water is pure water, and the ratio of the added hawthorn fruits to pure water is 1:2-6 (g / mL), and the hot water treatment time is 2-4 min.

3. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the cooling temperature is the optimum enzymatic hydrolysis temperature of pectinase.

4. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the amount of added pectinase is 0.03%-0.06% of the hawthorn fruit pulp obtained in step S2 by weight, the enzymatic hydrolysis time is 100-150 min, and the enzymatic hydrolysis temperature is 45-55 ℃.

5. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the centrifugation condition is 4000-4500 r / min for 10-20 min.

6. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the filtering condition is a 300-mesh filter screen.

7. The method for improving the sweetness perception of clarified hawthorn fruit juice using sweet and fragrant aroma substances according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S6, the sterilized bottle is selected to be a high-density polyethylene plastic bottle, and the pasteurization condition is 80-90 ℃ for 4-6 min.

8. Clarified hawthorn fruit juice prepared based on the method in any one of claims 1-7.

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