Characterization and comparison of sugar reduction in model confectionary gels using instrumental and sensory methodologies

High sugar consumption in the United States is a concern that has caused food producers to research methods for sugar reduction in their products. This is especially an interest in gelatin-containing desserts, such as gummies and jams, and some of its plant-based alternatives, which contain higher levels of sugar. To reduce the sugar in a product, one must consider the changes not only to the functional properties of the product, but also the sensory perception. In this study, four gelling agents (gelatin, ι-carrageenan, κ-carrageenan, and konjac glucomannan) at various sugar concentrations were analyzed using texture profile analysis (TPA) and sensory descriptive analysis (DA) to create a complete textural and sensory profile of the model confectionary gels with sugar reduction. From TPA, characteristics, such as hardness, fracturability, cohesion, adhesion, and gumminess, were calculated and correlated to attributes generated during sensory testing. Changes in texture across sugar concentrations were individual to the gel type for model confectionary gels. At similar levels of initial hardness, κ-carrageenan and konjac glucomannan samples were less cohesive and adhesive than ι-carrageenan and gelatin ones. To compare the methods, partial least squares regression, cluster and correlation analysis were conducted. Generated attributes, including chewy, melt-in-mouth, and creamy, were determined for the gel samples and compared to instrumental parameters. Instrumental and sensory measures clustered gelatin with both types of carrageenan, and konjac glucomannan was consistently seen as an outlier, being characterized strongly by the attribute chewy. Gel type was found to be a stronger factor when describing the reduced sugar gels than sugar concentration. The only exception to this case was that samples with no sugar were clustered together based on the factor sugar concentration. Sensory data also exhibited a higher level of discrimination than instrumental factors, as samples were almost always cluster by gel type and then sugar concentration. Creating both an instrumental and sensory profile for these gelling agents allows for the complete understanding of how sugar reduction impacts not only the functional but sensory perception of the product. With further studies, more correlation and comparison could be conducted to determine stronger connections between sensory and instrumental methods in other gelling agents or sugar concentrations.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• McKenzie, Elle

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lee, Soo-Yeun
• Lee, Youngsoo
• Schmidt, Shelly

• texture profile analysis
• sensory analysis
• descriptive analysis
• model confectionary gels
• hydrocolloid gels
• instrumental analysis
• gelatin
• carrageenan
• konjac glucomannan
• sugar reduction
• texture

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Elle McKenzie

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116115

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116115