Identifying ideal product composition of chocolate-flavored milk using preference mapping

Sensory Interactions between Sweetness and Fat in a Chocolate Milk Beverage

Fat and sugar-reduced foods and beverages have become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, mainly relating to health and wellbeing. Depending on the food or beverage, it may be difficult to reduce the fat and/or sugar content and still maintain optimal sensory properties for the specific product. One way of approaching the problem is to gain a better understanding of how a product is affected by a reduction in fat and/or sugar. This paper aims to investigate the sensory interactions between fat and sweetness perception in a chocolate-flavored milk beverage by using a descriptive analysis with a trained sensory panel. The reduction of fat significantly reduced the sweetness intensity of the chocolate milk, while the reduction of sucrose significantly decreased the cream flavor and the fruity and lactic flavor. The perception of acesulfame-K was affected by fat concentration, similarly to sucrose. These results highlight the importance of considering the effects of reducing either sugar and fat on product attributes that are not directly related to the sugar or fat.

Formulation and production of persimmon milk drink and evaluation of its physicochemical, rheological, and sensorial properties

One of the effective ways for increasing milk intake in a diet is producing flavored milk. In the present study, flavored persimmon milk drinks were formulated and produced. Rheological, sensorial, and physicochemical properties of the drinks were evaluated. Different amounts of persimmon (5, 10, 20, and 30% W/V), gum Arabic (0.1 and 0.2% W/V), and sugar (3 and 5% W/V) were used to produce persimmon milk. All the experiments were done in a completely randomized design (CRD) in three replicates. First, persimmons were mixed thoroughly in a blender then, according to the formulation, whole milk was added to it and mixed again. The obtained mixture was heated up to 50 ᵒC then sugar and the gum were added and mixed completely for 3 min. The drink was pasteurized at 90 ᵒC for 1 min. Sensorial analysis revealed that the most acceptable persimmon milk was related to 0.1% gum Arabic, 5% sugar, and 10% persimmon. Flow behavior of the drinks with 20 and 30% persimmon was Non-Newtonian, while 10% persimmon samples with and without gum showed Newtonian behavior. The drinks with 20 and 30% persimmon were pseudoplastic, and their apparent viscosity increased by increasing shear rates. By applying a proper content of persimmon in milk, we can produce a nutritious flavored milk drink with acceptable taste, stability, and consistency. As this drink has high nutrient contents like phenol, dietary fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, etc., it can help promote health, especially for children.

Acceptance of New Formulations of Extruded Gluten Free Snacks Based on Pulse Flours by Spanish Millennial Consumers

Nowadays, the food industry has developed novel gluten free extruded snack type products made from pulses, which could be good candidates to promote pulse consumption as a sustainable food product, while also satisfying the consumer’s demand. Snack type products are a large part of the young people’s diets and impact health outcomes, so it is essential to offer them snacks with a better nutritional profile. In this study, 81 Spanish millennial consumers tasted “in situ” six different gluten free snacks based on pulse flour (lentil and chickpea) marketed in Spain. The aim of the present study was: (a) to evaluate the Spanish millennial consumers’ acceptance level of new pulse snack type products; (b) to evaluate the segmentation of the millennial consumers and understand the difference between the segments; (c) to evaluate the potential relationship between their nutrition food labelling and consumers’ acceptance. In general, the lentil formulations (with more protein, more fat and less fiber) obtained higher scores than those of the chickpea. In addition, a multidimensional statistical analysis, preference mapping, and a statistical analysis of agglomerative hierarchical clustering were performed. Consumers were grouped into three clusters based on their preferences, allowing a detailed study of consumer acceptance of the selected snacks. Cluster 1 like less the samples with less salt, and, on the contrary, these samples were preferred by Cluster 3. Cluster 2 is a group who like lentil snacks, regardless of their flavoring. It was observed that the consumer segments differ at least in their preference for saltiness. The findings of this study also showed that the nutritional composition of the analyzed snacks (as appears in nutrition labelling) was associated with Spanish millennial consumers’ acceptance and could provide valuable information to develop new snacks targeted at specific market niches, such as millennials. These data provide valuable insights when trying to anticipate Spanish millennial consumer acceptance of new gluten free pulse snacks.