寒天の液体飲料への応用

Abstract: In liquid beverages, 寒天 has thixotropic viscosity, which can give liquid beverages a thick texture with a little residual aftertaste, good throat feeling, and very smooth taste; agar has good suspending properties, which can make some insoluble components such as protein, fiber and powder components produce a better suspending effect. It also improves the stability of beverages during the shelf life and prevents the precipitation of the water layer phenomenon.

1. What are Beverages?

Beverages can be divided into liquid beverages and solid beverages. Compared with solid beverages, the sensory fluidity of liquid beverage products is very important, which refers to thick texture, little aftertaste, and a good feeling in the throat.

A thick texture is what most beverages need, but in turn, this texture can be vicious or sticky and produce a long aftertaste or a bad feeling in the throat.

Therefore, beverage products also need the thick texture present to disappear quickly upon ingestion, i.e. with a little residual aftertaste, and these two sensory fluidities may contradict each other when using other thickeners.

2. Agar in Liquid Beverages

Agar, when used in beverage products, can satisfy both of these taste needs, resulting in a dense beverage with little residual taste and a good mouthfeel. This texture can be maintained for a long time during the shelf life with little change in viscosity.

3. Main Functions of Agar for Liquid Beverages

The Main Functions of Agar for Liquid Beverages are as follows

It has thickening and stabilizing effect, and compared with other viscosity-enhancing colloids, it has no sticky taste, and only a small amount is needed to provide a full and refreshing taste to the product.
With superior flavor release, agar will not cover the release of the food flavor itself.
It has thixotropic viscosity, giving liquid beverages a thick texture with a little residual aftertaste, good throat feel, and a very smooth taste.

Agar in liquid beverages has a certain gelatinous property, which can form a fluid three-dimensional network structure in the solution at low concentration and has good suspension, so that some insoluble components such as protein, fiber and powder components can produce better suspension effect. It also improves the stability of beverages during the shelf life and prevents the precipitation of water layer phenomenon.

4. Conclusion

According to the above role and taste characteristics of agar in beverages, it can be used in various beverages such as dairy beverages, vegetable protein beverages, fruit and vegetable juice beverages, cereal beverages and tea beverages. In some beverages containing bitter or irritating flavors, such as tea, coffee, and alcoholic beverages, agar can also appropriately reduce bitterness or irritating flavors, improve taste balance and palatability, and provide good flavor release.