Item

Physicochemical and sensory quality of muffin made with Stevianna® or inulin as sucrose replacer

Gao, Jingrong
Date
2018-04-09
Type
Thesis
Fields of Research
ANZSRC::090899 Food Sciences not elsewhere classified , ANZSRC::090802 Food Engineering
Abstract
Bakery products are a popular food which have sugar and starch as the main ingredients. However, high sugar levels can lead to chronic diseases such as weight gain leading to diabetes. Consumers have become increasingly aware of the link between diet and health, and consequently food manufacturers have used functional sugar ingredients to replace sugar and that can satisfy requirements of consumers. This study evaluated the impact of Stevianna® and inulin as partial or complete sugar replacers in muffin products. Stevianna® is a mixture of rebaudioside-A and erythritol, which can be used as a natural sweetener and may prove to be an effective and acceptable replacement to sucrose in baked systems. Additionally, Stevianna® is also a nutritive sweetener in food, as it lends a minimal calorie intake to the user. Inulin is a term applied to a heterogeneous blend of fructose polymers widely distributed in nature as plant storage carbohydrates. It has a neutral taste, is colourless, and thereby only minimally influences the organoleptic characteristics of product. Furthermore, inulin provides nutritional benefits, which results in better health and attenuation of the risk of many diseases. The purpose of this research was to determine the physicochemical effect of replacing the Stevianna® or inulin for sucrose at various levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %) in muffins. Two levels of Stevianna® (50 and 100 %) with cocoa powder and/or vanilla containing muffin were used in sensory analysis compared with a control sample. Analytical testing of air cell, height, density, volume, texture, moisture, colour, pasting properties and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was conducted on the different muffin formulations in addition to potential glycaemic impact and a sensory evaluation. Texture analysis showed the partly reduced sucrose muffins were more tender than the 100 % reduced sucrose muffin (p < 0.05) by sugar replacers. Muffin batters containing low levels of inulin showed a lower viscosity compared to the high level of inulin within batter, which indicates that sugar replacement with 100 % inulin has a significant effect on the batter viscosity. DSC results indicated that as the replacement level of sucrose with inulin increased, the starch gelatinisation temperatures also increased. A sensory descriptive panel found that muffins prepared with 100 % Stevianna® exhibited significantly harder texture, poorer acceptance, and a drier mouthfeel compared against a reference muffin control. Optimal results were obtained with 50 % Stevianna® sample, which was consistent with physical quality characteristics in terms of colour, volume, density and texture. Additionally, cocoa powder and vanilla were included to mask the stevia bitterness to aftertaste. The potential glycaemic impact was evaluated by in vitro carbohydrate digestibility analysis to mimic starch digestion in human intestine system. The results illustrated that the inclusion of inulin or Stevianna® have the potential to inhibit the glycaemic response.
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