Oats contain a considerable amount of the soluble fibre β-glucan, which has recently received an authorised cholesterol lowering health claim in all member states of the EU. The healthy and natural image of whole grain oats has made them a desirable ingredient for use in breads. However, the absence of gluten-forming proteins and high fibre content pose technological challenges with respect to product texture. Fundamental understanding of the role of oat components on the structure formation of dough and bread is needed to facilitate the development of new healthy variants of oat breads with consumer-appealing properties. This thesis studied the effects of baking and bioprocessing methods, such as the use of sourdough and enzymes, on the chemical and rheological properties of oat doughs, the stability of β-glucan, and the quality attributes of oat breads. A concept was created for using whole grain oat flour as a base in an oat-wheat bread with good textural and sensory quality and high β-glucan content. Ingredient and process parameters for optimised texture and taste of the oat-wheat bread were established without extensive degradation of β-glucan. The use of an optimized sourdough process in the production of oat bread provided a feasible technique for producing a new tasty variant of oat bread with high β-glucan content. The use of enzymes, such as laccase and xylanase, proved highly effective in improving the texture of oat-wheat bread. It was shown in this work that tyrosinase efficiently cross-linked oat protein, which was suggested to improve the textural properties of gluten-free oat bread. The identified positive effects on the baking quality of oat bread encourage the food ingredient and baking industry to apply bioprocessing as a powerful tool for improving the flavour and texture of healthy bakery products.

The agro-food industry generates annually substantial amounts of side streams, resulting in the loss of high-quality protein and dietary fibre, whereas their incorporation into the food chain would positively contribute to resource sufficiency and healthier diets. However, plant-based ingredients, especially proteins, typically deliver limited performance in certain food applications, such as beverages and spoonable products, when compared with their animal-based counterparts. Therefore, fractionation and functionalisation techniques are investigated and applied to improve the applicability of the plant-origin ingredients in a wider range of food matrices where they can offer alternatives to animal-based ingredients. Dry fractionation provides a sustainable and gentle processing technology, which allows the production of multicomponent hybrid-ingredients, enriched in protein but also containing considerable amounts of dietary fibre or starch, depending on the raw material. The aim of the current work was to investigate the use of dry fractionation, more specifically, dry milling and air classification, for increasing the protein content of cereal side streams, namely, wheat, rice and rye brans, and the barley endosperm fraction. In addition, the objective was to understand the factors affecting the technological functionality and applicability of the protein-enriched ingredients in the relevant food matrices. To facilitate a more efficient fractionation, pre-treatments, including defatting with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) for rice bran, moisture removal for wheat and rye brans and mixing with a flow aid for the barley endosperm fraction, were elucidated. The technological functionality of the protein-enriched fractions was examined, and bioprocessing and physical processing approaches for improving the ingredient applicability in high-moisture food systems were investigated with rice and barley fractions. This study revealed that the fat removal, drying and use of flowability aids were effective in enhancing dry fractionation by improving the processability, particle size reduction and dispersability of rice bran, wheat and rye brans, and the barley endosperm fraction, respectively. Pin disc milling and air classification of a SC-CO2-extracted rice bran increased the protein content from 18.5 to 25.7% with 38.0% protein separation efficiency (PSE). Alternatively, a two-step air classification of the defatted rice bran allowed to reach a slightly higher protein content (27.4%) with lower PSE (20.2%) compared with the one-step air classification approach. Air classification of the dried and pin disc-milled wheat and rye brans increased the protein content from 16.4 and 14.7%, respectively, to 30.9 and 30.7%, with PSE of 18.0 and 26.9%. Additionally, soluble-to-insoluble dietary fibre ratios were increased and phytic acid was considerably enriched in bran fractionations. The maximum protein content reached by air classification from the barley endosperm fraction, initially containing 80.0% starch and 8.3% protein, was 28.3% with 21.7% PSE, while reaching a lower protein enrichment level of 22.3% allowed obtaining PSE of 59.4%. The protein-enriched fractions, especially those from rice and wheat, exhibited higher protein solubility than the raw material brans, presumably due to the enrichment of albumin and globulin proteins from the aleurone during air classification, which was also indicated by an altered protein profile and the co-enrichment of phytic acid. When the ultra-fine milling of wheat and rye brans was explored as an alternative to fractionation, the formation of damaged starch and lowered protein solubility were observed. The protein-enriched brans and the ultra-finely milled brans both showed improved dispersion stabilities, whereas pasting viscosities, and water and oil binding capacities were lower for the hybrid ingredients compared with the pin disc-milled raw materials. The protein-enriched fraction from barley, on the other hand, exhibited low protein solubility and limited techno-functional properties. The applicability of the protein-enriched fractions in high-moisture food model systems was tested after ingredient modifications via enzyme treatment, ultrasonication and pH shifting. Phytase treatment of the protein-enriched rice bran fraction improved the behaviour of the ingredient in heat-induced gelation, especially under alkaline conditions. For the protein-enriched barley fraction, ultrasound treatment with or without pH shifting reduced particle size; improved colloidal stability at pH 3, 7 and 9; and increased protein solubility, especially at pH 9. To conclude, dry fractionation of cereal side streams allowed protein enrichment with a concurrent increase in the soluble-to-insoluble dietary fibre ratios of the brans and considerable reduction in the starch content of the barley endosperm fraction. Additionally, this thesis demonstrated for the first time that cereal side stream-derived, protein-enriched hybrid ingredients exhibit improved technological functionalities that can be further enhanced via enzymatic or physical processes that affect, for example, their gelation and dispersion stability. The bioprocessed protein-enriched rice bran fraction could find potential use as a raw material in spoonable food products delivering a good amount of protein and dietary fibre and allowing the use of the nutritional claim that the food is a ‘source of fibre’. The ultrasound-treated barley protein ingredients, on the other hand, should be further studied in the manufacturing of plant-based milk substitutes. In general, these improved ingredient properties suggest the possibility of developing novel side stream-based food ingredients with increased nutritional and technological qualities that simultaneously contribute positively to raw material resource sufficiency.

Olfaction, the sense of smell, has many important functions in humans. Human responses to odors show substantial individual variation. Olfactory receptor genes have been identified and other genes may also influence olfaction. However, the proportion of phenotypic variation in odor response due to genetic variation remains largely unknown. Little is also known about which genes modify specific responses to odors. This study aimed to elucidate genetic and environmental influences on human responses to odors. Individuals from Finnish families (n=146) and Australian (n=413), British (n=163), Danish (n=336), and Finnish (n=399) twins rated intensity and pleasantness of a set of 12 (families) or 6 (twins) odors and tried to identify the odors. In addition, the participants rated their own sense of smell and annoyance experienced with different environmental odors. The odor stimuli of a commercial smell test (The Brief Smell Identification Test; banana, chocolate, cinnamon, gasoline, lemon, onion, paint thinner, pineapple, rose, smoke, soap, and turpentine) were presented in the family study. Based on the results of the family study and a literature survey, a new set of odor stimuli (androstenone, chocolate, cinnamon, isovaleric acid, lemon, and turpentine) was designed for the twin studies. In the family sample, heritabilities of the traits were estimated and underlying genomic regions were searched using a genome-wide linkage scan. In the pooled twin sample, variation in the measured traits was decomposed into genetic and environmental components using quantitative genetic modeling. In addition, associations between nongenetic factors (e.g., sex, age, and smoking) and olfactory-related traits were explored. Suggestive evidence for a genetic linkage for pleasantness of cinnamon at a locus on chromosome 4q32.3 emerged from the family sample. High heritability for the pleasantness of cinnamon was found in the family but not the twin study. Heritability of perceived intensity of androstenone odor was determined to be ~30% in the twin sample. A strong genetic correlation between perceived intensity and pleasantness of androstenone, in the absence of any environmental correlation, indicated that only the genetic correlation explained the phenotypic correlation between the traits (r=-0.27) and that the traits were influenced by an overlapping set of genes. Self-rated olfactory function appeared to reflect the odor annoyance experienced rather than actual olfactory acuity or genetic involvement. Results from nongenetic analyses supported the speculated superiority of females' olfactory abilities, the age-related diminishing of olfactory acuity, and the influences of experience-dependent factors on odor responses. This was the first study to estimate heritabilities and perform linkage screens for individual odors. A genetic effect was detected for only a few responses to specific odors, suggesting the predominance of environmental effects in odor perceptions.

Mannans are abundant plant polysaccharides found in the endosperm of certain leguminous seeds (guar gum galactomannan, GG; locust bean gum galactomannan, LBG), in the tuber of the konjac plant (konjac glucomannan, KGM), and in softwoods (galactoglucomannan, GGM). This study focused on the effects of the chemical structure of mannans on their film-forming and emulsion-stabilizing properties. Special focus was on spruce GGM, which is an interesting new product from forest biorefineries. A plasticizer was needed for the formation of films from mannans other than KGM and the optimal proportion was 40% (w/w of polymers) glycerol or sorbitol. Galactomannans with lower galactose content (LBG, modified GG) produced films with higher elongation at break and tensile strength. The mechanical properties of GG-based films were improved by decreasing the degree of polymerization of the polysaccharide with moderate mannanase treatments. The improvement of mechanical properties of GGM-based films was sought by blending GGM with each of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH), corn arabinoxylan (cAX), and KGM. Adding other polymers increased the elongation at break of GGM blend films. The tensile strength of films increased with increasing amounts of PVOH and KGM, but the effect of cAX was the opposite. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed two separate loss modulus peaks for blends of GGM and PVOH, but a single peak for all other films. Optical and scanning electron microscopy confirmed good miscibility of GGM with cAX and KGM. In contrast, films blended from GGM and PVOH showed phase separation. GGM and KGM were mixed with cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) to form composite films. Addition of CNW to KGM-based films induced the formation of fiberlike structures with lengths of several millimeters. In GGM-based films, rodlike structures with lengths of tens of micrometers were formed. Interestingly, the notable differences in the film structure did not appear to be related to the mechanical and thermal properties of the films. Permeability properties of GGM-based films were compared to those of films from commercial mannans KGM, GG, and LBG. GGM-based films had the lowest water vapor permeability when compared to films from other mannans. The oxygen permeability of GGM films was of the same magnitude as that of commercial polyethylene / ethylene vinyl alcohol / polyethylene laminate film. The aroma permeability of GGM films was low. All films were transparent in the visible region, but GGM films blocked the light transmission in the ultraviolet region of the spectra. The stabilizing effect of GGM on a model beverage emulsion system was studied and compared to that of GG, LBG, KGM, and cAX. In addition, GG was enzymatically modified in order to examine the effect of the degree of polymerization and the degree of substitution of galactomannans on emulsion stability. Use of GGM increased the turbidity of emulsions both immediately after preparation and after storage of up to 14 days at room temperature. GGM emulsions had higher turbidity than the emulsions containing other mannans. Increasing the storage temperature to +45 ºC led to rapid emulsion breakdown, but a decrease in storage temperature increased emulsion stability after 14 days. A low degree of polymerization and a high degree of substitution of the modified galactomannans were associated with a decrease in emulsion turbidity.

The properties and evaluation methods of viili, the actions and interactions of viili starters in milk and bacteriophages of the viili starters were reviewed. The aim of the experimental study was to explore whether it was possible to make viili with single strain starters and combine them just before adding the starter to the milk. A new, second viili starter was made from the new strains. The success of the new starters was evaluated by sensory evaluation and by analysing the texture and chemical properties of viili. The starter strains were cultivated in a bioreactor, concentrated by a centrifuge and frozen at –75 °C. The starter strains were combined approx. 1 day before the viili production. The sensory evaluation of the viili was performed by groups of 3 to 6 persons. The texture (consistency, firmness and cohesiveness) of the viili and chemical analysis were made. The results of the sensory analysis were analysed statistically and new strain combinations were formulated based results. The viilis made by the traditional viili starter strains were evaluated by the triangle test (n = 10–11) and the second viili starter was evaluated by descriptive analysis (n = 8). The texture measurements and chemical analyses were also performed. The viili produced by the second starter was infected by the factory phage samples and the pH was measured. After infecting the viili with phage samples, the viili produced by second starter was acidified to pH 4.5 from 0 to 10 hours later compared to the viili without the phage sample. The viili produced by traditional starter did not acidify when the phage was added. The aroma producers did not grow properly in viili when the starter was made by single strains. The viilis made by the present viili starter strains were not distinguished by the triangle test which meant that the starters are possible to make from single strains. The viilis produced by the second viili starter differed from the viili made by traditional starter by appearance and texture characteristics. There was no difference in taste characteristics between the traditional and new starter.