ABSTRACTA simulated fruit gel suitable for freeze dehydration has been developed. The fabricated gel system consists primarily of alginate molecules crosslinked by calcium ions. Static compression tests or compression tests using the Instron Universal Testing Machine were used to characterize the mechanical properties of crosslinked gels having different compositions. It has been observed that incorporation of additional components such as pectin, gelatin, or sucrose to the calcium alginate system modified the textural characteristics of the crosslinked gels. Some hypotheses explaining the effect of added components on gel structure and texture are presented. Comparison of the results obtained from sensory and instrumental methods of texture measurement showed that if the instrumentally measured mechanical properties of two gel samples are different by 20 or more, sensory panelists could differentiate between the two samples at a high level of statistical significance.
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