もちと市販飲料の口内調味による苦味の発生(その2)さまざまな食品材料との比較

Phenomenon of taste modulation is poorly demonstrated. Very recently, we have clearly demonstrated that acidic soft drinks (pH 3.5), but not neutral ones, turn the sweetness of rice cakes into bitterness when we put them together in the mouth. Here, we tested, using sensory evaluation, if food materials other than rice cake showed the same or similar phenomenon. Nine healthy university female students were recruited. After chewing cooked food materials, a soft drink (pH 3.5) was put together in the mouth. Bitterness for boiled rice cakes were defined as score 2. Some crops with chewy texture produced bitterness similar to the rice cake. However, root vegetables, purified starches, amylopectin, gluten, and konjac did not produce bitterness. These results suggest that bitterness can be produced with some foods that have chewy texture, but the chemical structure and form of the bitter chemical in food need to be investigated further in future experiments.