Resumen

VALENCIA GARCIA, Francia Elena  y  MILLAN CARDONA, Leonidas de Jesús. Shelf life calculation for a low in calories milk caramel. Rev. Lasallista Investig. [online]. 2009, vol.6, n.1, pp.9-15. ISSN 1794-4449.

Introduction. When a low-in-calories milk caramel is made and sucrose is replaced with other raw materials, the quality of the product can be affected and so can be its shelf life. Objective. This work evaluated the shelf life of a low-in-calories milk caramel made in a laboratory scale, with 6.1% polydextrose, 8.6 % sorbitol and 3.7% fructose as sucrose's substitutes. Materials and methods. A staggered design was used, evaluating the product in the 1^st, 10^th and 20^th days. 24 pots, of 120 grams each, were stored at room temperature 24±4°C and a relative humidity of 65±5%. Tests such as physicochemical (pH and °Brix), sensory (taste and texture) and instrumental (Texture Profile Analysis TPA) were also practiced to those samples. Results. The statistical analysis for the sensory tests (taste and texture) did not show any significant differences (p>0.05) in the storage periods (1 and 10 days). This indicates that the product's shelf life is ten days, at room temperature conditions, for these two categories. Concerning °Brix and color, they did not show any significant difference (p>0.05) during the 20 days storage period. The pH level had a significant increase (p<0.05) in the 110th day of storage, and elasticity had just the opposite result. Hardness showed its lowest statistic significant value (p<0.05) after 20 days of storage. Adhesiveness increased after the 10^th day of storage and was statistically significant at day 1. Conclusion. The shelf life of the product was then established in 10 days.

Palabras clave : Low in calories milk caramel; texture profile analysis TPA; sensory analysis; staggered design; milk caramel's; shelf life.

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