ABSTRACT
Color, in turn, is important since with most foods it is the first sensory factor, followed by aroma, flavor, and texture, that governs food acceptability. One of the other functional properties of wood smoke is to impart color to foods. Certain phenols associated with the vapor phase of smoke are also thought to contribute to color formation in smoked foods. As with the Maillard reaction, temperature is another factor to consider, with color developing faster as product surface temperature increases. The specific color properties measured included the pigment ratio, reflectance and extinction ratios, percent pigment oxidation, and percent pigment ring destruction. The smokes included a conventional solid smoke aerosol, liquid smoke aerosol, liquid smoke external dip, and liquid smoke internal mix. Several alternate procedures, some of them which have only been evaluated briefly on an experimental basis, are available to give certain foods a smoke-processed color. Another approach involves the electrostatic deposition of wood smoke particles directly onto food surfaces.
