Monitoring the Quality Change of Fresh Coconut Milk Using an Electronic Tongue.

An electronic tongue was used to monitor the quality change of fresh coconut milk at room temperature, and the data were analyzed by principal component analysis, cluster analysis and similarity analysis. Results showed that the quality of fresh coconut milk significantly changed within 2-3 and 7-8 h, and that the change occurred more markedly within 2-3 h. Important quality indices of fresh coconut milk including titratable acidity, pH and microorganisms, were analyzed by chemical and microbiological analyses. The results were consistent with those of the electronic tongue method. Therefore, this simple and reliable method can be used to monitor the quality change of fresh coconut milk, which is beneficial to the processing and quality control of this foodstuff. Practical Applications Coconut milk is widely used as a food ingredient in Southeast Asia and Western countries, while the quality of fresh coconut milk changes quickly at room temperature. This work aims to establish a method using the electronic tongue to monitor the quality change of freshly squeezed coconut milk, which is advantageous for its storage and processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]