ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND SENSORY QUALITY OF SELECTED FRUIT GELS

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ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND SENSORY QUALITY OF SELECTED FRUIT GELS

Journal Title: Żywność. Nauka. Technologia. Jakość - Year 2010, Vol 17, Issue 2

Abstract

Fruit gels are a product that enjoys growing interest of consumers. This product is applied both in the confectionery industry and in the home cooking. The objective of this paper was to compare the content of dry mass, chemical composition, pH, and sensory properties of four fruit preserves of the ”Frużelina” type, produced by the ‘Prospona’ Fruit and Vegetable Processing Co. Ltd. in Nowy Sącz. Gels containing cherries, peaches, strawberries, and blueberries were assessed. The following parameters were determined in the gels assessed: dry mass, protein, fat, fructose, glucose, sucrose, and vitamin C. Active acidity (pH), content of pectins, and content of soluble and insoluble fractions of dietary fibre were determined, too. The sensory assessment was accomplished using a 5-point scale method according to the requirements in force ref. to this kind of analyses. The sensory assessment was carried out by a sensory panel consisting of 13 persons in a sensory laboratory of the Department for Analysis and Assessment of Food Quality at the University of Agriculture in Krakow. It was found that the ‘Frużeliny’ fruit gels investigated differed among themselves in their physicochemical properties. The contents of the components being determined significantly depended on the kind of fruits contained in the product. The blueberry gels were characterized by the highest content of dry mass, and the strawberry gels – by the lowest. The active acidity ranged from 3.36 in the ‘Frużelina’ blueberry gels to 3.79 in the ‘Frużelina’ peach gels. The products analyzed did not significantly differ in the contents of protein and fat. The content of total sugars ranged from 16.8 g/100 g in the strawberry gels to 21.6 g/100 g in the cherry gels, respectively. A high difference in the content of vitamin C in the products investigated was found. The peach gels had the highest content of vitamin C (28.6 mg/100 g), probably owing to the addition of ascorbic acid at the stage of producing them), whilst the content of vitamin C in the cherry gel was almost 20 times lower (1.4 mg/100 g). The peach gels were characterized by the highest content of soluble pectins and total pectins, whereas the strawberry gels had a lower content level of those pectins. The content of dietary fibres determined in the blueberry gels (2.11 %) and in the strawberry gels (2.10 %) was almost twice as high as in the peach gels (1.29 %) and in the cherry gels (1.25 %).On the basis of the sensory analysis, it was found that all the gels analyzed were characterized by a high sensory quality (the total assessment mark was above 4.14 on a 5-point scale). The quality factors of the strawberry gels were assessed as the worse (except for their flavour).

Authors and Affiliations

Paulina Pająk, Teresa Fortuna

Keywords

EP ID EP152946
DOI 10.15193/zntj/2010/69/085-094
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