BROWNING IN

FOOD
Non-Enzymatic Browning

Non-enzymatic browning is a chemical process that produces a brown colour in foods without the activity of
enzymes.
 BROWNING

• Browning is a common colour change seen in

food during pre-preparation, processing, or
storage of food. It occurs in varying degrees
in some food materials. The colour produced
ranges from cream or pale yellow to dark
brown or black, depending on the food item
and the extent of the reaction. The process of
browning is one of the chemical reactions that
take place in food chemistry and represents an
interesting research topic regarding health,
nutrition, and food technology.
• Browning reactions may be desirable or undesirable. In some food, the brown colour and flavour developed during
browning are highly desirable and associated with a delicious, highly acceptable, and quality product. Browning
reactions contribute to the aroma, flavour and colour of the product such as the browning crust of bread, and all
baked goods, potato chips, roasted nuts, roasted coffee beans and many other processed foods.
• The undesirable effects of browning reactions are seen in dehydrated food such as milk, eggs, dry fruits, cut fruits
and citrus fruit juice concentrates, canned milk and coconut.
• The colour varies from light cream to black while coconut develops a saffron colour. The off-colour and off odour
developed in foods depends on the extent to which the browning reaction has progressed. Off flavours may vary
from mild flavour changes to stale and very bitter.
• Controlled browning is necessary even in foods where browning is desired because excessive browning can produce
an undesirable product.
TYPES OF BROWNING

1. Enzymatic Browning
2. Non-Enzymatic Browning
 ENZYMATIC BROWNING
• Enzymatic browning is an oxidation process that occurs in foods. It usually results in undesirable quality changes—in
colour, taste, texture and even nutrition.
How does enzymatic browning happen?
• Enzymatic browning affects mostly fruits and vegetables. When you peel or cut open fruit with a knife, oxygen is
introduced to the damaged part. The presence of oxygen triggers the enzymes, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in apples, for
example, to oxidize phenolic compounds in the tissues. This results in the formation of brown pigments called melanin's.
• Not only PPO is present in fruits and vegetables. PPO is also responsible for the black spots in crustaceans like shrimps and
prawns. The black spots begin to manifest hours or days after harvest.
• It can be observed in fruits (pears, apples, apricots, bananas, grape etc),vegetables (mushrooms, lettuce, potatoes etc), cereal
(wheat flour and rice) and even in sea food (shrimps, crabs and spiny lobsters)
• Most enzymatic browning is not desirable. To a consumer, it is maybe simple. Just remove the browning part of a banana
and that’s it. But looking at the bigger picture, enzymatic browning is not a simple predicament. Through the years, the
global food industry has experienced economic losses due to enzymatic browning. In fact, research shows that over half of
produce is lost as a result of enzymatic browning.
ADVANTAGES OF ENZYMATIC BROWNING

•  The final product, melanin's has antimicrobial properties that prevents any infection
and inflammation to the plant or fruits
•  Melanin also has antioxidant, anticancer and antibacterial properties.
•  Enzymatic browning in some food enhance color and flavors e.g.in tea, coffee, cocoa,
raisins.
DISADVANTAGES OF ENZYMATIC BROWNING

 Decrease the nutritional quality of food

 Affects sensory quality like bad odour, taste and flavour
 Food may be unappealing to customers
 and May also decrease the shelf life
PREVENTION OF ENZYMATIC BROWNING

1. Blanching: a short heat treatment to inactivate the enzyme before freezing products
(vegetables) Blanching brightens the colour, and softens the texture of the food. 
Blanching temperature 70o -100oC.
Types of blanching
• Steam blanching: control enzymatic browning in canned or frozen fruits and vegetables
• Microwave blanching: may not be effective as research has shown that some of the
enzyme molecules may not be inactivated, this can result in off-flavour, loss of texture and
colour.
2. Refrigeration:  Refrigeration and chilling prevent spoilage of fruits and vegetables  At a
temperature of below 7oC, polyphenol oxidase activity is inhibited but not inactivated
3. Freezing:  Method used to stop browning in fruits  Causes a reduction in available water for
the enzymatic reaction.
4. Change in pH: Lowering the pH to 4.0 by the addition of citric, ascorbic acid or other acids
inhibits the enzyme activity. In homes, a sprinkling of lemon juice or vinegar prevents browning.
5. Dehydration: Common method of dehydration:  Freeze drying: removal of moisture by
sublimation (change from solid to gas ) under vacuum  Lowering water activity by adding water-
binding chemicals e.g NaCl , sucrose, honey, glycerol and syrups.
6. Irradiation (Cold pasteurization):  This process is used to kill bacteria and reduce
enzymatic activity  Irradiation is often applied in fruits, vegetables, cereal grains and meat
for long-term preservation.  Irradiation can cause loss of nutrients and low consumer
acceptance
Types of irradiation
 Gamma rays
 X-rays
 Electron b
7. High-pressure treatment (High-pressure processing- HPP): Food is subjected to
elevated pressure (500-700 atm) to achieve enzymatic and microbial inactivation Cause a
minimal change in foods Giving fresher taste and better appearance, texture and nutrition
 HPP without heat eliminates thermal-induced cooked off-flavour Beneficial to heat
sensitive products but expensive.
8. Ultrafiltration: A membrane separation process by a pressure gradient Membrane
separates liquid components according to their size and structure It removes larger
molecules e.g polyphenol oxidase It is often applied in the food industry to products like
white wine and fruit juices.
9. Ultrasonication
• Ultrasonication is an advanced method to inactivate enzymes. Ultrasonic sound waves are able to
destroy large molecules by liberating highly reactive radicals from water. It is not yet applied on a
large scale.
10. Treatment with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2)

• Supercritical carbon dioxide (fluid carbon dioxide at high pressure) treatment is mostly applied to
destroying micro-organisms but can also be applied for enzyme inactivation, especially for
inactivation of PPO in shrimps, lobsters and potatoes. Inactivation of the enzyme is a result of a
decrease in pH caused by the production of carbonic acid from carbon dioxide.
2. Non-enzymatic browning
It is a chemical process that produces a brown colour in foods without the activity of
enzymes. The two main forms of non-enzymatic browning are caramelization and the
Maillard reaction. Both vary in reaction rate as a function of water activity.

• 1. Maillard Reaction– it is a protein-sugar interaction. It leads to the development of brown colour in a

mixture containing amino acids and reducing sugars. It is also called carbonyl-amine reaction. The
brown colour formed contributes to the aroma, flavor, and colour of many ready to eat cereals, baked
food, malted barley etc. various factors which affect this reaction are-type of sugar- the more percentage
of reducing sugar, the darker the crust in the bakery products, type of amino acid, temperature, moisture.
• Maillard reaction also leads to undesirable changes like unfavourable brown colour eg. In dried milk.
Detrimental flavour changes eg. Burnt flavour.
• Condensation of amino group of protein brown colour+ carbonyl group of sugar
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtwwjRYNw9c
• 2. Caramelization- when sugar is heated at high temperature(160 deg C) in the absence
of water and amino acids, it turns brown and this sugar-sugar interaction is known as
caramelization. sugar is broken down into a number of compounds due to intense heat.
• sucrose caramel + acid
• development of caramel flavour and colour in caramel custard is a desirable change,
whereas uncontrolled heating of sugar can lead to objectionable burnt colour and flavour.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOb98GBKcaM
Important Terminologies- Definitions and Relevance

1. Boiling Point
2. Melting Point
3. Smoking Point
4. Flash Point
5. Surface Tension
6. Boiling under pressure
1. BOILING POINT

• The boiling point of a liquid is the

temperature at which the vapour pressure of
the liquid becomes equal to the atmospheric
pressure of the liquid’s environment. At this
temperature, the liquid is converted into a
vapour.
• The boiling point for any material is the temperature point at which the material transforms into the gas phase in the liquid
phase. This happens at 100 degrees celsius for water. Each substance carries its own boiling point.
• The boiling point of a substance is dependent on the pressure of its surroundings. In mountainous terrains (where the altitude is
high), the pressure of the atmosphere is relatively lower than the atmospheric pressure at sea level. This is the reason why food
cooks at a slower pace in mountainous areas (the lower atmospheric pressure causes water to boil at temperatures below 100oC).
• When all the particles in the liquid phase have been transformed into the gas phase, the temperature begins to rise again, as long
as heat is still being applied to the surrounding system. As the temperature starts to increase, so does the particle’s kinetic
energy.
• Therefore, the boiling point of a liquid depends on atmospheric pressure. The boiling point becomes lower as the external
pressure is reduced. As an example, at sea level, the boiling point of water is 100 C (212 F), but at 6,600 feet the boiling point is
93.4 C (200.1 F).
• The normal boiling point of water is 100oC because this is the temperature at which the vapor
pressure of water is 760 mmHg, or 1 atm. Under normal conditions, when the pressure of the
atmosphere is approximately 760 mmHg, water boils at 100 oC. At 10,000 feet above sea level, the
pressure of the atmosphere is only 526 mmHg. At these elevations, water boils when its vapor
pressure is 526 mmHg, which occurs at a temperature of 90 oC.
• Pressure cookers are equipped with a valve that lets gas escape when the pressure inside the pot
exceeds some fixed value. This valve is often set at 15 psi, which means that the water vapor inside
the pot must reach a pressure of 2 atm before it can escape. Because water doesn't reach a vapor
pressure of 2 atm until the temperature is 120oC, it boils in this container at 120oC.
2. MELTING POINT

• Melting or fusion is the process by which a solid substance changes into a liquid on
heating. On heating a substance, the particles vibrate with greater intensity and move
more vigorously. Heat energy is produced. The particles gain sufficient kinetic energy to
overcome the strong forces of attraction. They gain energy to break through to form small
groups of particles. Solids, therefore, melt to form a liquid state.
The temperature at which a solid substance melts and transforms into a liquid at
atmospheric pressure is termed the melting point of a substance.
• Different solids display varying melting points. For example, the
melting point of wax is 63 °C. The greater the melting point of
the substances, the more will be the intraparticle forces of
attractions binding the particles. For instance, in the solid form of
water, ice melts at a temperature of 0 °C to form liquid water.
Therefore, the melting point of ice is 0 °C at atmospheric
pressure.
• At the melting point, the solid and liquid states of matter coexist
together. The melting point of a substance is its characteristic
property influenced by the applied pressure.
• melting-and-boiling-points-of-common-substances_orig.webp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XInOqPF44Ic
3. SMOKING POINT

• The term “smoke point” refers to the temperature at which an oil literally begins to
smoke. This is the temperature at which the components in the oil begin to interact with
the oxygen around it. The more an oil has been refined, the fewer compounds remain in
the oil to react with the heat and, hence, the higher the smoke point. Unrefined oils retain
more of the original characteristics of the ingredient that can react with heat and,
depending on the oil, sometimes have a lower smoke point than refined oils.
SURFACE TENSION

• Surface tension is the tendency of fluid surfaces to shrink into the minimum surface area
possible. Have you noticed when you fill a glass up to the brim with water, you can still
add a few more drops till it spills out? Or have you ever broken a thermometer and
observed how the fallen mercury behaves? All these happen due to the surface tension of
the surface
• “Surface tension is the tension of the surface film of a liquid caused by the attraction of the
particles in the surface layer by the bulk of the liquid, which tends to minimise surface
area”.
• The ratio of the surface force F to the length L along which the force acts.

Mathematically, surface tension can be expressed as follows:

T=F/L
• Where,
• F is the force per unit length
• L is the length in which force act
• T is the surface tension of the liquid
SI Unit N/m
CGS Unit dyn/cm
Examples of Surface Tension
•Walking on water: Small insects such as the water strider can walk on water because their weight is not enough to penetrate the surface. Water spiders
are able to walk on top of water due to a combination of several factors. Water striders use the high surface tension of water and long,
hydrophobic legs to help them stay above water.Water striders use this surface tension to their advantage through their highly adapted legs
and distributed weight. The legs of a water strider are long and slender, allowing the weight of the water strider body to be distributed over a
large surface area. The legs are strong, but have the flexibility that allows the water striders to keep their weight evenly distributed and flow
with the water movement.
•Floating a needle: A carefully placed small needle can be made to float on the surface of the water even though it is several times as dense as water. If the
surface is agitated to break up the surface tension, then the needle will quickly sink.
•Don’t touch the tent!: Common tent materials are somewhat rainproof in that the surface tension of water will bridge the pores in the finely woven
material. But if you touch the tent material with your finger, you break the surface tension and the rain will drip through.
•Soaps and detergents: These help the cleaning of clothes by lowering the surface tension of the water so that it more readily soaks into pores and soiled
areas.
•Washing with cold water: The major reason for using hot water for washing is that its surface tension is lower and it is a better wetting agent. But if the
detergent lowers the surface tension, the heating may be unnecessary.
•Why bubbles are round: The surface tension of water provides the necessary wall tension for the formation of bubbles with water. The tendency to
minimize that wall tension pulls the bubbles into spherical shapes.
• 3-Table1-1 (1).png
• Water has an unusually high surface tension because of the relatively high attraction of
water molecules to each other through a web of hydrogen bonds, water has a higher
surface tension than most other liquids.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=las1GTJG5IM
FLASH POINT

• Flashpoint, is the lowest temperature at which a liquid (usually a petroleum product) will
form a vapour in the air near its surface that will “flash,” or briefly ignite, on exposure to
an open flame. The flashpoint is a general indication of the flammability or
combustibility of a liquid.

• A lower flash point indicates higher flammability.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_nVhkvPEpI
 DENSITY

• A material’s density is defined as its mass per unit volume.

• Density is essentially a measurement of how tightly matter is packed
together. It shows how much heavy an object is at constant volume.
• It is a unique physical property of a particular object.
• The principle of density was discovered by the Greek scientist Archimedes.

The symbol ρ represents density or it can also be represented by the letter d.

Density can be explained as the relationship between the mass of the
substance and the volume it takes up.
The formula for density is d = M/V, where d is density, M is mass, and V is
volume.
ρ = density, kg/m3, or g/(cm)3
FLOATING AND SINKING

• Whether something floats depends on the material it is made of or density of the material, not its
weight.
• Objects float if they are less dense and sink if they are denser in comparison to the medium on
which the objects float. ( most of the time the medium used is water)
• The density of water=1 g/cm cube or 1000kg/m cube
• Densities of wood, cotton wool and wax<1 g/cm cube. So, these substances will float in water.
• Densities of aluminium and iron are greater> than 1 gm/cm cube. So They will sink into the
water
Problem-1)Find out the density of a cube of sugar which weighs 12 grams and measures 2 cm on a side?
Problem-2) A block of wood of density 0.8 g/cm cube and has a volume of 60 cm cube. The mass of the
block will be?
Problem-3)The volume of an object is 8 cm3 and the mass of an object is 84 grams. What is
the density of the object?
Problem-4) Volume of a block is 5 cm3. If the density of the block is 250 g/cm3, what is the mass of the
block?
Problem-5) The density of water is 1 g/cm3. The density of iron is 7.8 g/cm3. The density of mercury is
13.6 g/cm3.
Answer the following: a) Will a piece of iron float or sink in water? b) Will a piece of iron float or sink
in mercury?
RELATIVE DENSITY/ SPECIFIC GRAVITY

• Relative density is the ratio of the

density of the substance to the
density of water.
• Or It is the ratio of the mass of any
volume of the substance to the
mass of an equal volume of water.
• It has no unit as it is the ratio of
two similar quantities.
.The density of water is 1 g/cm3. The density of iron is 7.8 g/cm3. The density of mercury
is 13.6 g/cm3. Answer the following: a) Will a piece of iron float or sink in water? b) Will a
piece of iron float or sink in mercury?
Question-1)It is given that the density of diesel is 860 kgm -3. The density of water is
1000 kgm-3. What is the relative density of diesel in the SI unit?
Question-2) It is given that the density of gold is 19300 kgm -3. The density of water is
1000 kgm-3. What is the relative density of gold in the SI unit? Will it float in mercury
with a relative density of 13.6 and in water with 1?
Question -1)A brick of Himalayan salt measures 20cm*10cm*4cm and weigh 1 kg and 600
gm. Calculate its density.
Question-2) Which has a greater density, an eraser with a mass of 3 gm and a volume of 1 cm
cube, or an eraser with a mass of 3 gm and a volume of 3 cm cube.
Question-3) A bar of soap is 12 cm tall, 6 cm wide, and 10 cm long. It has a mass of 415
grams. What is the density of the bar of soap?
Question-4)If the density of a 45.0 cm3 block of wood is 0.65 g/ml calculate the wood’s
mass.
Question-5)What volume of silver will weigh exactly 2500 g. The density of silver is 10
g/cm3.
Question-6) Pure gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm3. How large would a piece of gold be if it
had a mass of 318.97 g?