Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Adding air to foods (aeration) is an effective means of imparting quality attributes across virtually all sectors of the food industry. However, the fragility and instability of aerated foods makes it highly challenging to predictively adjust aeration operations to attain desirable quality. Thus, there is a need for a well-founded understanding of the physical properties of aerated foods, and how proteins create aerated structures in bubbly liquids and foams. Because aerated foods are generally poorly understood, I take a materials science approach to evaluate food quality attributes, with emphasis on sound theoretical frameworks for guiding studies of process-structure-properties relationships. A critical factor in both the structure and properties of aerated foods is the amount (volume fraction) of air in the food. For example, this controls whether the food is a bubbly liquid or a foam (possessing solid-like characteristics). Because the volume fraction of air is not controlled in mixing devices used in the kitchen or the process line, I will use an instrumented shaker device to independently control the volume fraction of air across its whole continuum (0 to 1). The force patterns generated as the aerated structure develops will be used to define the aeration performance of animal and plant proteins. I will also investigate how the creation of the aerated structures differs across the volume fraction continuum when particles (starch granules or lipid-enriched starch granules) are added to the protein solutions. A diverse team of 7 undergraduate and graduate students will carry out the four program objectives. In doing so, students will acquire a set of technical, communication and interpersonal skills to prepare them for a wide range of agri-food careers. The doctoral students will develop strong information literacy and critical synthesis skills, equipping them to be forward-thinking future leaders in agri-food research and development. Outcomes from this program are relevant to domestic food preparers, gastronomy specialists and food manufacturers, since a mechanistic understanding of how proteins create aerated structures is vital to inform strategies for manipulation of food product texture; for example, to create better-textured gluten-free baked products. The proposed studies are especially relevant to developing new ingredients from Canada's underutilized plant and animal resources. Understanding bubble interactions with starch granules in aerated food systems will provide insights into enhanced stabilization of bubble-rich foods. One significant outcome from such an understanding is optimal incorporation of healthful ingredients (e.g., fibre particles) to maintain the quality of the aerated food. The research will also offer insights of wider scientific importance, as understanding the unusual physical properties of aerated materials is relevant to strategies for creating aerated materials in fields such as medicine and physics.