Good taste, sweet and sour. Sweeteners and acidulants are the most common flavoring methods in food production. Adding a small amount of acid to a sweet substance weakens the sweetness; adding a sweet substance to acid weakens the sourness. Different fruits have different sweet/acid ratios and therefore have different perceptions of sweetness and acidity. Even when sourness is composed of the same acid, the sweetness-to-acid ratio varies greatly, resulting in different sourness characteristics.

Candies, jams, juices, and beverages without a souring agent have a bland flavor and a monotonous sweetener. Adding the right amount of sweet and sour agent to adjust the ratio of sweet and sour, you can make the flavor of the food significantly improved, so that the product is more palatable.

The sweet-sour ratio is an important quality factor of sensation, and is one of the important components of taste. Different sweet-sweet ratio, flavor characteristics are obvious, to determine the correct sweet-sweet ratio, to determine the correct style of food.

Table 1 Flavors with different sweet and sour ratios

Calculation formula for sweetness to acidity ratio

Sweet to Sour Ratio is the ratio of sweetness to acidity in a product. Sweetness is the total sweetness (by sucrose) of all sweeteners and acidity is the total acidity (by citric acid) of all acidulants.
Sweet to sour ratio = total sweetness (by sucrose) / total acidity (by citric acid)

The appropriate sweet to sour ratio depends on human taste, and the sweet to sour ratio is best matched to be close to natural. Therefore, the sweet and sour ratio is linked to the flavor and smell, the sweet and sour ratio is appropriate, the flavor effect is better. Such as lemon drinks sweet and sour ratio of low acid, and then more flavorings can not play a due role.

Fruit sweet and sour ratio can be used to compare the quality of the fruit class, the amount of soluble solids to the fruit (generally expressed in terms of sugar refractometer) divided by the amount of acid and the value obtained. For example, the coefficient of ripeness of grapes refers to the sugar-acid ratio of grapes. If the ripening coefficient is expressed as M, the sugar content as S, and the acid content as A, the ripening coefficient is M=S/A. During the ripening process of grapes, the sugar content of the berries rises continuously and the acid content falls sharply, so the value of the ripening coefficient M rises rapidly.

For a specific grape variety, when the grapes have reached physiological maturity, their sugar and acid content rarely change, and the value of the ripening coefficient is then relatively stable. Generally speaking, to make high quality wine, the value of M must be greater than 20. One should determine the harvesting period of grapes according to the ripening coefficient of grapes and according to the ability and conditions of grape processing.

Sweet to Sour Ratio and Blending of Beverages

For fruit juices, the flavor is palatable when the sweet to sour ratio is appropriate. Table 2 lists the amount of sugar-acid and flavorings for various flavored beverages. According to the taste of most people, the general sweet-sour ratio of fruit juice is (13:1) ~ (15:1), and should not exceed the range of (10:1) ~ (15:1). It can also be determined by (6x+7) ≤ y ≤ (6x+9) equation. where x is the citric acid concentration; y is the sucrose concentration.

Consumers are more sensitive to acid than to sweet. The appropriate acidulant composition in milk beverages depends on the different amounts of reduced milk added, in the case of 20%, 30%, 40% of the amount of reduced milk added, the appropriate composition of acidulants (citric acid: lactic acid: malic acid) in the order of 30:45:25, 20:55:25, 10:65:25 (milk flavor) and 40:35:25, 30:45:25, 20:55: 25 (fruit and milk flavor type).

Table 2 Sugar-acid and flavor dosage of various beverages

In the actual production, due to the different raw materials used, there are differences in the sweet and sour ratio. Only through the composition of the adjustment in order to get a satisfactory flavor. This adjustment and mixing is commonly known as blending, the purpose is to standardize and improve the flavor, color, texture, nutrition and stability of the product. Adjustment of sweet and sour ratio should be based on the characteristics of natural fruit juice components, consumer requirements and preferences for the selection of appropriate sweeteners and acidulants, or the use of the same type, different flavors of fruit juice as raw materials. Sweet and sour ratio value is high is sweet and tasteless, not crisp, not thirst; sweet and sour ratio is low is only feel sour, sour and astringent. Adjust the sweetness with sugar solution or sweetener adjust the acidity with fruit juice or 0.1% citric acid.

Examples of Beverage Formulation Design

Beverage formulation design is usually based on experience to design a good approximate ratio, and then make adjustments to make a number of groups of samples for sensory evaluation. Orthogonal test method is generally used, and the factors and levels are determined differently according to the different objects imitated; the flavor of the beverage is the root of the designed formula. The basic point is to determine the appropriate sweet-sour ratio and sweet-sour intensity. In addition, people’s drinking habits, physiological needs and the development trend of beverages should be fully considered.

For example, fruit juice (fruit flavor) milk drink. In order to make fruit juice (fruit-flavored) milk drink has a crisp flavor, should reduce milk fat and milk solids, the general fruit juice (fruit-flavored) milk drink content of each component is about 0.3% fat, 10% sucrose, protein 1.2%, acidity 0.36% ~ 0.38%, pH value of 4.6 ~ 4.8.

Table 3 Reference formula

Summarize

The sugar-acid ratio of different beverages is not the same, is the same drink in different areas of the consumer requirements for sugar-acid ratio is not the same, the same flavor of the beverage if the base material is not the same, even if the same sugar-acid ratio taste will not be the same. A new product formula development before to do a lot of product research, product development out, we have to carry out a series of experiments and sensory evaluation group acceptance before put into mass production; and then according to the different base material and different regions to adjust the sugar-acid ratio.