Abstract
Pleurotus ostreatus is an edible mushroom with interesting nutritional properties, which is able to grow on agri‐food waste and could in turn be used as an ingredient for food fortification. However, new food products have to face with the growing consumer consciousness about what they eat and hedonic responses, which represent a key factor in determining food preference and choices. The aim of this study was to design a vegetable‐based product (a pumpkin and carrot soup) added with increasing concentration of P. ostreatus powder rich in β‐glucans, which are fibers with demonstrated bioactivity in humans, and to obtain a sensory description of these fortified products to find the desirable and undesirable sensory properties that affect their acceptance. A total of 109 subjects (women N = 52; men N = 57; age = 36.1 ± 14.4 years) evaluated five samples of pumpkin and carrot soup added with increasing concentrations of mushroom powder (0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and a hidden control at 0%) for liking and sensory properties by means of the check‐all‐that‐apply method. Results showed that creaminess, orange color, mild odor, and taste were positively related to vegetable soups liking, whereas strong taste, dark color, and mushroom odor described the less liked samples. Sample added with 2% of mushroom powder obtained comparable liking scores to the unmodified sample, while liking decreased with increasing concentration of P. ostreatus powder. The present results demonstrated that it is possible to fortify a vegetable soup with P. ostreatus powder developing well‐accepted foods by consumers. This product could be used to implement an everyday dietary intervention of β‐glucans over a long‐term period.
Highlights
One of the leading priorities for researchers in today's food industry is to develop sustainable new food formulations with healthy properties
The present results demonstrated that it is possible to fortify a vegetable soup with P. ostreatus powder developing well accepted foods by consumers
The results of the present study suggest that it is possible to develop new β-glucans enriched products using an adequate concentration of Pleurotus ostreatus powder, a mushroom able to grown on various substrates, without decreasing consumers’ satisfaction
Summary
One of the leading priorities for researchers in today's food industry is to develop sustainable new food formulations with healthy properties. With the increasing incidence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and cancer, there is a need to adopt new dietary strategies, and to create foods that could potentially support diseases prevention. Food industry spends considerable resources in the development of new enriched food products and technologies for designing these foods (Siegrist, Shi, Giusto, & Hartmann, 2015). Β-glucans mushroom consist mainly of linear β-(1→3)-linked backbones with β-(1→6)-linked side chains of varying distribution and length. These β-glucans can shape complex tertiary structures which are stabilized by interchain hydrogen bonds (Brown & Gordon, 2005)
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