Stanisław Kowalski

Sauces and Dressings: A Review of Properties and Applications

This comprehensive review of sauces and salad dressings covers the literature over the last decade with respect to physical and chemical properties and the applications of these products. As such, texturizing and structural systems (especially hydrocolloids) are described in detail and the application of polysaccharide thickeners as texture providers is described. Microbiological aspects of sauces are covered with relevant sections discussing the factors affecting microbiological activity and microbial spoilage and/or enhancement of a range of sauces. In addition, the use of carbohydrates and proteins as emulsifiers in many sauces is described. Quality aspects are given prominence in this review with sections being devoted to rheological and textural properties, chromatographic approaches and sensory aspects. Healthy sauces such as those having low sodium, reduced fat and cholesterol or containing inulin or microcrystalline cellulose are reviewed. Finally, for various sections the trends of the main findings as well as suggestions for future research are presented.

Changes of antioxidant activity and formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey during thermal and microwave processing.

The paper presents the results of microwave irradiation and conventional heating of honey. These two kinds of thermal treatment result in the formation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), and changes in the antioxidant potential of honeys, which were studied as well. Four types of honey (honeydew, lime, acacia, buckwheat) were analyzed. Honey samples were subjected to conventional heating in a water bath (WB) at 90°C up to 60min or to the action of a microwave field (MW) with constant power of 1.26W/g of the sample up to 6min. Changes in the antioxidant capacity of honeys were measured as a percentage of free radical (ABTS(+)and DPPH) scavenging ability. Changes in the total polyphenols content (TPC) (equivalents of gallic acid mg/100g of honey) were also determined. Formation of HMF in honey treated with a microwave field was faster in comparison with the conventional process. Changes in the antioxidant properties of honey subjected to thermal or microwave processing might have been botanical origin dependent.

5-Hydroxymethyl-2-Furfural (HMF) – Heat-Induced Formation, Occurrence in Food and Biotransformation – a Review

Abstract The chemical structure of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF), its physicochemical properties and reactions that lead to the synthesis of HMF were discussed. Special attention was paid to HMF formation in food during processing. The potential applications of this compound in industry were described as well. Moreover, this review outlines the most important sources of HMF in human diet and estimates the potential daily intake of HMF by consumers. The known and suggested metabolic pathways, as well as the impact of HMF and its metabolites on human health are also discussed.

β -Cyclodextrin as water-solubility enhancer for butylated hydroxytoluene

The phenomenon of the increase in solubility of the non-polar phenolic antioxidant — butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) — in aqueous solutions containing β-cyclodextrin (CD) was studied. The complexation of BHT by CD was investigated using a phase solubility study. This method makes it possible to calculate the apparent formation constant for the host-guest complex. In addition, the thermodynamic properties were evaluated, revealing a spontaneous endothermic process of complex formation. Two solubility models were also used to verify their applicability to predicting the BHT concentration in solution. Those models included the modified Apelblat and Buchowski-Ksiazczak equations. In order to investigate the antioxidant properties of the BHT/CD/water ternary systems, a radical scavenging activity using a DPPH stable radical was performed. The experiments indicated that the antioxidant activity is temperature- and CD concentration-dependent. It was shown that complexation may inhibit the radical scavenging by BHT or change the scavenging stoichiometry.

Binary mixtures of two anionic polysaccharides simulating the rheological properties of oxidised starch

Abstract Modifications of starches are carried out to improve their industrial usefulness. However, the consumers prefer natural products. For this reason, various methods of starch properties modification are applied to replace those requiring the use of chemical reagents. The aim of this study was to determine whether it is possible to use binary pastes, containing normal potato starch and xanthan gum, as substitutes of chemically modified starches (with oxidised starch E 1404 pastes as an example). Flow curves with hysteresis loops, apparent viscosity at constant shear rate of 50 s−1 and in-shear structural recovery test with pre-shearing were applied to study the rheological properties of the pastes. It was found that two anionic hydrocolloids, potato starch and xanthan gum, can form binary systems with thickening properties, provided that their proportions are adequately adjusted. Some of the binary pastes under investigation exhibited rheological properties resembling pastes of starch oxidised with hypochlorite (E 1404). The way of tailoring the binary pastes properties is presented.