Effect of some additional ingredients on quality and sensorial characteristics of spreadable carob molasses

Abstract

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a nutritious fruit that has been grown in Mediterranean region. Carob holds an important place in various cultures, which has been used in baked goods, confectionery, chocolate milk products, snacks, tea, and coffee. The objective of this study was to produce spreadable carob molasses by using carob molasses (CM) with different proportions of locust bean gum (LBG), crystallized honey (CH), cocoa oil (CO), egg white (EW), additive mixture (AM) and evaluate pH, total soluble solids (TSS), color, viscosity, density, volume increase, and sensorial properties. The darkest color was obtained in sample consisting of LBG and CO while the lightest color was determined in sample with LBG, EW, AM, indicating EW and AM enhanced lightness with bleaching effect. The highest volume increase, about 145%, was observed in sample with LBG and EW. The LBG addition significantly increased the viscosity in all spreadable carob molasses samples (p<0.05). Adding CO reduced the volume and increased the density of samples, which is probably due to lubricating effect of CO on the carob molasses. According to the sensory evaluation, the highest value of color, taste, consistency, spreadability and overall acceptability was determined in sample including CM, LBG, EW, CH, and AM. Consumer preference test was confirmed that same sample was the first choice with 20.77% preference score. Sensorial values of color and consistency had significant effect on overall acceptability with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 (p<0.05). With its appealing physical and sensorial property, spreadable carob molasses can be a healthy option.