Trehalose, also known as trehalose and muscimol, is a non-reducing disaccharide composed of two glucose molecules. It is easy to crystallize and soluble in water. , hot ethanol, glacial acetic acid, insoluble in acetone. In the food industry, trehalose is currently being developed and researched for various uses considering its functions and characteristics such as non-reducing properties, moisturizing properties, anti-freezing and drying resistance, high-quality sweetness, and energy sources.
Trehalose has the functions of flavoring, smelling and preserving food:
Flavor and odor-correcting effects: The third function of trehalose is its unique taste-correcting and odor-correcting effects. Adding about 2% trehalose to low-salt soy sauce immediately increases the flavor and turns it into a flavor comparable to strong soy sauce. However, most of the functions of trehalose in this regard are to mask some unpleasant odors and tastes, or to move them in a reducing direction. For example, the bitter taste of grapefruit and aloe vera, the raw fishy smell of soy milk and eggs, the smell of heating, the smell of old rice, etc. In these foods, the bitterness or odor can be greatly improved by adding a small amount of trehalose. There are many foods like this that have a subtle taste or smell that affects their quality. Therefore, trehalose will have great utilization value in this aspect in the future.
Maintain the freshness of food tissues: When storing vegetables, fruits, and cereals, enzymatic or non-enzymatic factors can cause browning and softening, thus making the food fresher. degree decreased. For this reason, some countermeasures such as preheating or chemical agents are often used. For example, in order to prevent apples from browning, they are often soaked in salt water, but sometimes they feel salty or the texture is softened, which affects the taste, making it difficult to achieve satisfactory results. In this case, if the apples are soaked in 5% trehalose solution, not only can browning be prevented, but the texture of the apples will also feel good. Trehalose not only preserves the freshness of fresh fruits and vegetables such as apples, cucumbers, and radishes, but also preserves the salted products of cabbage and cucumbers. In addition, it also has the function of preserving the freshness and extending the life of picked roses.
