Replacement of gelatin with Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage in flavored pink and unflavored white marshmallows. Part 2: Consumer liking

Abstract

Mucilage from the cladodes of Opuntia ficus-indica is under investigation for application in
several foodstuffs. Since it can not form gels on its own, it is advised to be used in
combination with other hydrocolloids. The aim of this study was to compare consumer liking
of flavored and unflavored marshmallows made with wet mucilage, to that of a flavored and
unflavored control sample (with 100% gelatin), as well as a flavored and unflavored
commercial brand. Ninety-two consumers tasted the following six samples: white
commercial (Manhattan); white control (gelatin); white mucilage (75% mucilage + 12.5%
agar + 12.5% xanthan); pink commercial (Manhattan); pink control (gelatin); and pink
mucilage (75% mucilage + 12.5% agar + 12.5% xanthan). Consumer liking was tested for
taste, aftertaste, texture, as well as an overall acceptability of liking. The white mucilage
marshmallows had the lowest ranking for taste, aftertaste, texture and overall acceptability,
and differed significantly (p<0.05) from all the other samples. However, the pink mucilage
marshmallow did not differ from the pink commercial one (which had the highest rankings
for taste, aftertaste, texture, and overall acceptability) and pink control marshmallow. The
differences between the white and pink mucilage marshmallows ranged between 2.75 and
2.89 on the hedonic scale. It could be concluded that flavoring successfully masked the
distinctive aroma of the mucilage in the marshmallows, thereby also increasing scores for
texture and overall acceptability.