Understanding the sensory profile of a traditional snack of Indonesia: Serabi

Abstract

Serabi is Indonesian traditional food and has been widely known in Surakarta. However, its sensory profile has not yet been described. This study aims to characterize the sensory attributes of serabi products in Surakarta by combining quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and principal component analysis (PCA) methods. Ten samples of serabi produced by small medium enterprises (SMEs) in Surakarta were collected and evaluated. The sensory profile is categorized based on aroma, taste and texture. The focus group discussion (FGD) of eleven trained panellist agreed that the attributes of aroma are eggs, coconut milk, sweet, burnt and pandan leaf. Meanwhile the attributes of taste are coconut milk, sweet and salty, and softness, solid and crunchy particle, hardness, softness and creamy are the attributes of texture. The PCA result showed that two samples, J and I, were described as serabi that have intense burnt and hardness attributes while more shredded coconut texture were represented by sample H and A. Moreover, samples D, G, F fall in a quadrant that describes having dominant egg and flour taste, while the rest samples, E, C and B have more intense salty, sweet and pandan leaf aroma. This result can be used as a reference for describing the basic profile of traditional serabis in Surakarta.