Sensory characterization, acceptance, and stability studies on low calories fruit jelly candies

The objective of this work was to characterize and evaluate the sensory acceptance and stability of jelly candies with flavor of orange (OJC) or raspberry (RJC), and alternative sweeteners (isomalt, maltitol syrup, and stevia). A qualitative sensory study showed that among potential buyers (70% of 200 participants), the main associations were related to taste, sensations/feelings, health, and appearance. A sensory panel (80 participants) performed the rating of liking, and the sensory intensity assays, which showed that both candies were rated within liking categories by more than 70% of consumers, and that the taste attributes were categorized at the right point. Color and gumminess were rated in the just point for RJC, while for OJC, these variables deviated from the expected. Regarding sensory stability, a penalty study advised that bitterness/sweetness ratio, and color attributes should be improved in order to extend the candies´ sensory shelf life. Additionally, a trained sensory panel evaluated the textural changes during storage of the jelly candies. The sensory studies carried out on the novel jelly candies showed substantial interest from consumers, therefore, they could be considered an alternative to replace traditional sweets, offering a nutritional contribution from fruits, without artificial preservatives and added free sugars.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05747-7.

Interactions in plasticizer mixtures used for sugar replacement

In our quest for novel ingredients to be used in sugar replacement strategies, we have investigated the thermodynamics of polycarboxylic acids, such as citric acid. We have demonstrated the applicability of the Flory-Huggins (FH) theory to describe the thermodynamics of polycarboxylic acids solutions. Moreover, for citric acid we can describe the complete phase diagram with the theory. It shows that polycarboxylic acids have similar plasticizing and hygroscopic properties as sugars and polyols. Regarding mixtures of polycarboxylic acids and carbohydrates, the FH theory is able to describe a) the water activity of the mixtures, b) the solubility of ternary mixtures of acids and sugars, c) the lowering of the deliquescence point for binary mixtures of crystals, and d) the melting point depression in eutectic mixtures. Unexpectingly, our investigations show there is a strong non-zero FH interaction parameter between carboxylic acids and carbohydrates. In our prior sugar replacement strategy we have assumed zero interactions between plasticizers. Here, we will readdress this assumption. Carefull investigations of solid-liquid equilibrium of eutectic mixtures involving polycarboxylic acids and/or carbohydrates, shows nearly zero interaction in eutectic mixtures consisting only of two carbohydrates or two polycarboxylic acids. We now hold the hypothesis that there is strong non-zero interaction if the mixture contains plasticizers strongly differing in the amount of hydrogen bonding groups. This strong interaction explains why these mixtures, like polycarboxylic acids and carbohydrates, are excellent candidates as deep eutectic solvents. Furthermore, we conclude that polycarboxylic acids are useful additions to the toolbox of sugar replacers, albeit that there are some limitations to their amounts used.

Sugar reduction methods and their application in confections: a review

Many American adults consume almost double the daily recommended amount of sugar. With excess consumption of sugar and consequential health problems arising, food manufacturers are investigating methods to reduce sugar while maintaining similar functional and sensory properties. The body of literature was searched for papers regarding sugar reduction, and the main methods of sugar reduction are summarized herein with a specific focus on high sugar products. Reducing sugar in confections is possible; however, the challenge is maintaining the balance between texture and sweetness perception. Texture plays a large role in the sweetness perception of confections, with firmer products often being perceived as less sweet. Depending on the method, 20-40% of sugar can be removed from confections without sacrificing sensory acceptance, often replaced with multiple ingredients. Further investigation is needed on confection models and how the emerging health trends set the foundation for sugar reduction.

Enzymatic and microbial conversions to achieve sugar reduction in bread

A standard level of sugar addition to bread is 2% (flour base) but sweet baked goods including hamburger buns, hot dog buns and some sandwich bread contain more than 10% sucrose. This study aimed to provide an integrated assessment of different strategies for sugar-reduced bread by using isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) as bulk sweetening agent, polysaccharide hydrolases to generate sugars from flour polysaccharides, and sourdough. Trained panel sensory analyses of the intensity of sour and sweet tastes were compared to the concentration of organic acids and the sugar concentration of bread. Sourdough fermentation reduced the sweet taste intensity of bread produced with 9% sucrose. This effect was more pronounced with Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which converts fructose to mannitol with concomitant production of acetate. Addition of up to 20% sourdough fermented with Weissella cibaria 10 M, which does not produce mannitol and less acetate when compared to L. mesenteroides, did not substantially reduce the sweet taste intensity. Bread produced with 9% IMO tasted less sweet than bread prepared with 9% sucrose but partial replacement of sucrose with IMO maintained the sweet taste intensity. Addition of 4.5% IMO in combination with W. cibaria sourdough, amyloglucosidase and the fructosidase FruA enabled production of bread with 50% reduced sucrose addition while maintaining the sweet taste intensity. In conclusion, the single use of a sweet bulking agent, of amyloglucosidase or fructanases or the use of sourdough alone, did not maintain the sweet taste intensity of sugar-reduced bread, however, a combination of the three approaches allowed a reduction of sucrose addition without reducing the sweet taste intensity.

Impact of sugar replacement by non-centrifugal sugar on physicochemical, antioxidant and sensory properties of strawberry and kiwifruit functional jams

Raw cane sugars have been claimed to be rich in natural phenolic compounds which, in contrast to refined sugar, may increase the nutritional value of foods and contribute to the development of healthier foods and diets. The use of non-refined cane sugars in food formulation seems an interesting option since they provide natural antioxidants with sucrose still being the major sugar present, minimizing the loss of technological properties. However, substitution of refined sugar could imply an undesired impact on physicochemical and sensory properties, conditioning consumer's acceptance. Functional jams (strawberry and kiwifruit) with a larger fruit to sugar ratio than conventional ones, in which white sugar was replaced by granulated jaggery (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 y 75 % w/w) were obtained. Impact of sugar replacement was assessed by evaluating physicochemical properties (moisture, water activity, pH, total soluble sugars, sugar profile (glucose, fructose, sucrose), and optical, rheological, mechanical and antioxidant properties). Sensory properties and microbiological stability were also determined. Jaggery improved the antioxidant properties of jams (total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, antiradical activity by the DPPH and ABTS methods), proportionally to the amount of cane sugar incorporated and more significantly in the case of kiwifruit. Other physicochemical properties were not significantly affected by jaggery, except for color. However, these differences were not crucial in the acceptability tests, since acceptance of jams containing jaggery was generally good, very good when intermediate replacement percentages were used. Conclusions of the present work suggest that granulated jaggery can be used to formulate sugar-rich food products such as jams in order to increase their nutritional value, with little impact on physicochemical properties and good consumer acceptance.

Effect of fat and sugar replacement on rheological, textural and nutritional characteristics of multigrain cookies

Fat and sugar are responsible for the structure of cookies but make them nutritionally inferior. Therefore, in the present study, cookies with improved nutrition using whole wheat flour (WWF) and incorporation of multigrain mix (MM-oats, peas and fenugreek flours) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels was studied. Further, fat was replaced using pumpkin seed (PS) or watermelon seed (WS) at 25, 50 and 75% level and sugar was replaced using dry dates (DD) or raisins (RS) separately at 20, 40 and 60%. MM having protein at 15.13% and dietary fibre at 12.83% significantly decreased the water absorption (68.1-60.6%), stability (2.52-1.35 min), amylograph peak viscosity (665-821 BU), and cookie dough hardness (1737-690.5) at 100% MM. Based on the physico-sensory analysis, 75% replacement of WWF with MM was selected for replacement of fat or sugar. Addition of PS or WS increased the dough hardness (1235-4103 g), whereas the spread ratio of cookies decreased from 6.25 and 6.31 to 5.54 and 4.06 respectively. Replacement of fat with PS at 50%, sugar by DD at 40% along with a combination of sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) and glycerol mono stearate (GMS) showed improvement in the cookie texture. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) of cookie showed coating of starch granules and appearance of sheet-like covering of protein network. The mono and polyunsaturated fatty acid profile of cookies improved apart from a two-fold increase in protein and three-fold increase in dietary fibre.

Replacement of glycaemic carbohydrates by inulin-type fructans from chicory (oligofructose, inulin) reduces the postprandial blood glucose and insulin response to foods: report of two double-blind, randomized, controlled trials

PURPOSE

Inulin-type fructans are recognized as prebiotic dietary fibres and classified as non-digestible carbohydrates that do not contribute to glycaemia. The aim of the present studies was to investigate the glycaemic response (GR) and insulinaemic response (IR) to foods in which sucrose was partially replaced by inulin or oligofructose from chicory.

METHODS

In a double-blind, randomized, controlled cross-over design, 40-42 healthy adults consumed a yogurt drink containing oligofructose or fruit jelly containing inulin and the respective full-sugar variants. Capillary blood glucose and insulin were measured in fasted participants and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after starting to drink/eat. For each test food, the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for glucose and insulin was calculated and the GR and IR determined.

RESULTS

Consumption of a yogurt drink with oligofructose which was 20% reduced in sugars significantly lowered the glycaemic response compared to the full-sugar reference (iAUC120min 31.9 and 37.3 mmol/L/min, respectively; p < 0.05). A fruit jelly made with inulin and containing 30% less sugars than the full-sugar variant likewise resulted in a significantly reduced blood glucose response (iAUC120min 53.7 and 63.7 mmol/L/min, respectively; p < 0.05). In both studies, the postprandial insulin response was lowered in parallel (p < 0.05). The reduction of postprandial glycaemia was positively correlated to the proportion of sugars replaced by inulin-type fructans (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the studies confirmed that substitution of glycaemic sugars by inulin or oligofructose from chicory may be an effective strategy to reduce the postprandial blood glucose response to foods.

Understanding functionality of sucrose in biscuits for reformulation purposes

We review the functionality of sucrose during the manufacture of biscuits from the perspective of sugar replacement. Besides to providing sweetness, sucrose has important functionalities concerning structure and texture formation. These functionalities also need to be mimicked in reformulated biscuits. First, we review the hypotheses concerning the development of structure and texture of biscuits during manufacturing, which are conveniently summarized in a qualitative way using the Complex Dispersed Systems methodology. Subsequently, we represent the changes of the state of the biscuit during manufacturing in the supplemented state diagram, which indicates the important phase transitions occurring during mixing and baking. We propose that when reformulated biscuits follow similar paths in the state diagram, similar structures and textures can be obtained. Physical theories exist for predicting these phase transitions for existing sucrose-rich biscuits and also reformulated biscuits containing extensive sweeteners as sugar replacers. More accurate predictions of structure and texture can be eventually obtained if they are combined with computational models, including heat and moisture transfer.

Effect of partial replacement of sugar with stevia on the quality of kulfi

Stevia is a natural sweetener obtained from the leaf of Stevia rebaudiana plant. Its refined extract powder is 130-300 times sweeter than sucrose. Besides, it prevents diabetes, decreases weight, prevents tooth decay, increases digestion etc. Dietetic kulfi was produced, in which 50, 60 and 70% sugar was replaced with 0.05, 0.06 and 0.07% refined stevia extract powder respectively. At higher levels of sugar replacement there was a significant decrease in specific gravity, melting rate, carbohydrate percentage and total calorie content and a significant increase in freezing point, hardness and fat, protein, ash and moisture percentage. Kulfi prepared by replacing half the sugar content with stevia was adjudged on par with the control in sensory characteristics. Above 50% sugar replacement resulted in bitterness, lack of brownish appearance and presence of icy texture.

Quality characteristics of no added sugar ready to drink milk supplemented with mango pulp

Removal of sugar as a sweetener and its replacement by a high potency sweetener introduces a number of sensory and technical challenges particularly diminution in mouthfeel. Thick consistency of pulpy fruits could be exploited to compensate for the loss of viscosity and mouthfeel in sugar substituted beverages. The investigation was undertaken to study the effect of mango pulp supplementation on the quality of flavoured low calorie milk drinks using sucralose as sugar substitute. The effect of 0.0 to 100 % sugar replacement on total solids (TS), total soluble solids (TSS), specific gravity, viscosity and sensory scores was studied. Sugar replacement considerably decreased TS, TSS, viscosity and sensory scores. The mango flavoured milk drinks(MFDs) prepared by replacing sugar with sucralose and adding 10 % mango pulp in milk of 0.5 % fat and 8.5 % milk solid-not-fat. MFD were pasteurized and stored at refrigeration temperature for shelf life studies. A significant (p < 0.01) loss in the viscosity, ascorbic acid and reducing sugar content of pasteurized MFD was noticed during the storage period of 10 days at 5.0 ± 0.1 °C. However, the titratable acidity increased to undesirable levels in MFD after 8 days which rendered it unacceptable. Standard plate count and yeast and mold count of MFDs increased during storage. The shelf life of the pasteurized MFD was found to be 8 days at 5.0 ± 0.1 °C.

Effect of fat and sugar substitution on the quality characteristics of low calorie milk drinks

The study was undertaken to develop low calorie functional milk drinks using inulin and sucralose as fat and sugar substitutes, respectively. Cardamom was incorporated as a flavouring ingredient. The milk fat varied from 0.5 to 1.0%, sugar replacement from 0 to 100%, and inulin incorporation from 0 to 8%. The effect on total solids (TS), total soluble solids (TSS), specific gravity, viscosity and sensory scores was studied. Sugar replacement considerably decreased TS, TSS, viscosity and sensory scores. However, increase in inulin significantly improved these parameters. Addition of 4% inulin was found to impart viscosity and sensory properties equivalent to that of control (2% fat). The cardamom flavoured milk drinks were prepared by replacing sugar and adding 4% inulin in milk of 0.5% fat and 8.5% milk solid-not-fat. The calorific value decreased by 43% in the experimental milk drink compared to control.