Bubbles in Foods: Creating Structure out of Thin Air!

Bubbles are always perceived to represent the best in food and drink. Their presence and characteristics have dominated our perception of the quality of bread, champagne, ice creams, and let’s not forget the good olde beer! In recent years, there has been a constant flow of new bubble-containing snack foods into our supermarkets—whipped cream, chocolate, wafers, cakes, meringues, extruded snacks and sparkling drinks—all of which have very novel structures and are perceived to offer lighter alternatives in terms of calories. Figure 10.1 shows a selection of bubble- containing food products currently available in supermarkets in the UK. Most products manage to gain a positive market image by highlighting bubbles, which is beneficial to manufacturers. From a consumer’s point of view, too, there are advantages. Bubble-included products are normally perceived to have a sophisticated mouth-feel, and this is achieved by using gases which, although not formally recognized, represent a zero calorie ingredient. The high ratio of volume to the amount of material normally associated with such products can also be beneficial to consumers who are struggling to control their amount of food intake.