Sensory attributes of Indian fried foods incorporated with different levels of fructooligosaccharides.

ABSTRACT

Prebiotics are the non-digestible fibers which have the potential to exert a positive effect on human health. They serve as a substrate for microflora in the large intestine and are known to improve overall gut health. Fried foods contribute greatly to the snack foods industries and are specially liked for their crispy texture and unique flavor. Addition of fructooligosaccharides in fried food products has a potential to be developed into a therapeutic food. Hence, the effect of incorporating fructooligosaccharide on sensory qualities of fried products namely vegetable paratha (Shallow fried) and lilva kachori (Deep fried) was investigated. Fructooligosaccharides was added to the one serving of vegetable paratha and lilva kachori’s stuffing at 10 g, 15 g and 5 g, 10 g, and 15 g respectively and were compared with the standard recipes. Three successive trials were conducted for screening the panelist through threshold test. Sensory evaluation was carried out at nine point hedonic scale test for the two products in triplicates. An internal panel of 25 semi trained members evaluated the products for color and appearance, mouthfeel, texture, taste, after taste, and overall acceptability. The results revealed a non-significant reduction in most of the sensory attributes for vegetable paratha, whereas, a significant reduction was observed in texture scores (p<.05). A significant reduction (p<.001) was found in all sensory attribute scores of lilva kachori. Addition upto 5 g fructooligosaccharide did not altered sensory qualities of lilva kachori. The most affected attribute for vegetable parantha was texture (8.6 percent reduction) and for lilva kachori it was color and appearance. Thus it can be concluded that fructooligosaccharides can be incorporated in vegetable paratha upto 15 g and upto 5 g in lilva kachori. An addition of fructooligosaccharide in stuffed fried snacks may serve to fulfill consumer demand for health foods.