The developing of reduced-sugar ready-to-drink cocoa beverages: optimization of stabilizers and sugar replacers concentration

Abstract

Sugar has a role in the intrinsic properties of the product and gives a satiety effect after consumption. Nevertheless, its adverse effect on the human body becomes an essential reason to reduce the sugar content including in ready-to-drink (RTD) cocoa beverages. Besides the sugar, the properties of the beverages are also affected by the stabilizers. The development of reduced-sugar RTD cocoa beverages was studied in two steps. Initially, the stabilizers comprising kappa-carrageenan (κ-carrageenan) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were optimized in the full-sugar RTD cocoa beverage by which the concentrations of the stabilizers could stabilize cocoa particles and the beverage met its prominent characteristics regarding the sensorial properties also physical properties (sedimentation, rheology, and color). The CMC and κ-carrageenan respectively varied into formulas, which were F0(0%;0%), F1(0.025%;0.01%), F2(0.025%;0.02%), F3(0.025%;0.03%), F4(0.05%;0.01%), F5(0.05%;0.02%), F6(0.05%;0.03%), F7(0.075%;0.01%), F8(0.075%;0.02%), and F9(0.075%;0.03%). The chosen formula given by this first optimization, F5, was used as a basic formula for reducing the sugar of the beverage in which isomalt together with one of the high-intensity sweeteners (HISs), sucralose, was used as sugar replacer. The research revealed that the F5 within its sugar content was reduced until a portion of 37.04%, could still be tolerable based on sensorial properties.