Quality and antioxidant properties of jelly supplemented with apricot juice concentrate

Abstract

Gummy jellies are becoming more popular than in the past as a dessert or snack in the Korean food market. Taking advantages of diverse functional activities of apricot juice concentrate (AJC), it can be incorporated into snack food such as jelly to meet consumers' emerging demands regarding health concerns. However, there has been a scarcity of reports on the most appropriate concentration of AJC in jellies. This prompted us to undertake the present investigation with the objective to evaluate the physical, sensory, and antioxidant characteristics of jellies containing various concentrations of AJC (7.5%, 15%, 22.5%, and 30%). The pH, moisture content, and lightness (L∗) decreased significantly while total soluble solids (TSS), hardness, redness (a∗), and yellowness (b∗) increased significantly with increasing concentrations AJC (p<0.05). In addition, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical scavenging activities significantly increased (p<0.05) at higher AJC concentrations. A consumer acceptance test indicated that the incorporation of 22.5% AJC had favorable effects on consumer preferences for all the tested attributes. Based on our study, jelly incorporated with 22.5% AJC is recommended for developing AJC-supplemented jellies with improved overall qualities without sacrificing consumer acceptability and while taking advantage of the functional properties of AJC.