SOLUTE-SOLVENT INTERACTIONS AND THE SWEET TASTE OF SMALL CARBOHYDRATES .2. SWEETNESS INTENSITY AND PERSISTENCE IN ETHANOL WATER MIXTURES

Intensity and persistence of sweet taste of sugars (glucose, fructose, xylose and sucrose) and polyols (sorbitol, xylitol) were determined in ethanol water mixtures using a sensory measuring unit for recording flux (SMURF) device. In all cases sweetness intensity and persistence were decreased when ethanol concentration was increased from 10% to 30%. Assessing intensity/time responses for varied (from 2.3% to 9.2%, w/v) concentrations of D-glucose, D-fructose and sucrose in 5% ethanol mixture shows that persistence is more affected by the presence of ethanol than intensity. These results are interpreted by the solution properties in the ethanol water binary solvent.