Promotion of browning in the development of new dairy products : a thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Food Technology in Food Processing

Abstract

One readily demonstratable effect resulting from the prolonged heat treatment of milk is browning. A form of non-enzymic browning due to interaction of aldoses with free amino-groups occurs in many foods, and hence this reaction is of broad significance in the food field; e.g., dry milk products (29), processed potatoes (95), dried fruit (102), dried whole eggs (73), dried meat (99), and liquid and concentrated milk products (33, 83). The significance of browning in food technology has two aspects – the desirable and the undesirable. In many areas of the world today people are undernourished, malnourished, and even starved. At the same time in other parts of the world, food is abundant to the point of substantial excess. Although many factors contribute to this unbalance, food spoilage is an important consideration. Some excess food can be processed and stored in a practical manner involving little or no deterioration, but some of it faces spoilage despite man's preventive efforts. One vexing problem of food spoilage is browning which may affect many food products. These include dried food such as milk, eggs, fruits, fruit juices, meat, fish and vegetables (12); canned milk, fruit, and vegetables; and other foods such as molasses. Loss of palatability and nutritive value as well as undesirable changes in physical properties frequently attend the browning of food to varying degrees of intensity, depending on the stage to which the reaction has progressed. This is the undesirable aspect of browning.