THE EFFECT OF STEVIA AND BENEFIBER COMBINATION AS A SUGAR SUBSTITUTE IN THE PHYSICAL,

TEXTURE AND SENSORY ANALYSIS OF OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES.

Karen Bukolt, MS; Nicole Ramirez, MS; Andrea Saenz, MS; Sikha Bhaduri, PhD; Kaiwan Mirza, PhD; Khursheed Navder, PhD, RD
Nutrition Program at the CUNY School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, New York, NY
 
ABSTRACT PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES   SENSORIAL PROPERTIES
Consumers are constantly on the lookout for healthy snacks with low FIGURE  1.  Effect  of  stevia/Benefiber  on  Water  Ac6vity  (aw)   FIGURE 4. Effect of stevia/Benefiber on overall acceptability of the
Glycemic Index (GI). This study was conducted to test the   0.62   cookie
5  
effectiveness of a 33%, 50%, 66% and 100% substitution of white   0.6  
4.5  
and brown sugar with a zero calorie sweetener (stevia) and a bulking   0.6  
3.86  
0.59  

  4   3.71  
agent (Benefiber). There were no differences in %Δ weight, %Δ
0.58   3.5   3.35   3.27  
height and pH between control and variations. Both moisture and   0.57  

water activity decreased as substitution increased (P<0.05). Area and   0.56   0.56   3  
2.62  
diameter also significantly decreased with sugar replacement.   0.55   2.5  

Cookies became more pale as substitution increased. Hunter   0.54   2  

colorimeter showed that crust lightness increased significantly at   1.5  

66% and 100%. Texture analysis measured using a TA.XT Plus   0.52   1  
Control   33%  Stevia   50%  Stevia   66%  Stevia   100%  Stevia  
Texture Analyzer (Texture Technologies Corp., Scarsdale, NY)   0.5  

indicated a significant increase in fracturability and hardness at the As  the  stevia/Benefiber  subs6tu6on  increased,  water  absorp6on   0  
Control   33%  Stevia   50%  Stevia   66%  Stevia   100%  Stevia  
50%, 66% and 100% (P<0.05). Sensory evaluations indicated no increased  due  to  the  hygroscopic  proper6es  of  Benefiber,  indica6ng  
difference in color and appearance between 33% and 50% the  shelf  life  was  longer.   Overall acceptability of the cookie was over 3 (neither like nor dislike)
compared to control. Substitutions at 33%, 50%, and 66% all ranked for the 33%, 50% and 66% substitution.
FIGURE  2.  Effect  of  stevia/Benefiber  on  the  diameter  of  the  cookie    
above 3 (acceptable) for appearance, color, taste, texture and overall 30  
  27.94   27.79  

acceptability. Nutritionally, the 66% variation increased in fiber by 3 27.12  

26.29  

 25   NUTRITION PROPERTIES

grams (289.09%), while sugar decreased by over 4 grams (-48.70%)   22.34  

per 27 grams serving compared to control. Improved nutritional FIGURE 5. Effect of stevia/Benefiber on key macronutrients
 20    
content and acceptability makes stevia and Benefiber a viable sugar   Macronutrient   Control   33%   50%   66%   100%  
replacer at 66% substitution for oatmeal cookies.  15    
Kilocalories  
   (kcal)   120.47   119.98   119.72   119.47   118.98  
10  
   %  (Decrease)    
OBJECTIVE   5   (0.41)%   (0.62)%   (0.83)%   (1.24)%  
The objectives of this study was to determine if stevia and Benefiber  in  kcal  
 
would be a satisfactory substitution for sugar in physical, textural,   0    Dietary  Fiber,  
sensorial and nutritional properties. 1.03   2.51   3.25   4.00   5.48  
  Control   33%  Stevia   50%  Stevia   66%  Stevia   100%  Stevia  
 Total  (g)  
  As  the  stevia/Benefiber  subs6tu6on  increased,  water  absorp6on    %  Increase     144.60%   216.85%   289.09%   433.69%  
increased  due  to  the  hygroscopic  proper6es  of  Benefiber,   in  Fiber  
METHODS  
consequently  the  diameter  of  cookie  decreased.     Sugar,  Total  (g)   8.86   6.71   5.63   4.55   2.39  
Cookies were prepared by replacing 33%, 50%, 66% and 100% of  
the total sugar, both brown and white, with stevia and Benefiber and FIGURE  3.  Effect  of  stevia  and  Benefiber  on  Fracturability   %  (Decrease)    
  (24.33)%   (36.52)%   (48.70)%   (73.03)%  
then compared to the control, made with brown and white sugars.
40  
  35.48  
in  Sugar  
35   32.88  
 
Physical Measurements: Diameter % change and moisture content  
30   28.28   29.09   Calories did not decrease as Benefiber and sugar have the same 4
% were measured.   25.48   kcal/gram. However, fiber increased 3 grams from the control to
Texture Analysis: The TA.XT Plus Texture Analyzer was used to 25  
  66%, +289.09%, and sugar content decreased by 4 grams,
measure the fracturability and hardness. 20   -48.70%.
 
Sensory Evaluation: Untrained panelists (n=100) evaluated each 15  
   
cookie using a hedonic scorecard. Appearance, color, taste, texture
and overall liking acceptability were evaluated using a hedonic scale
10  
  CONCLUSION
5   Stevia and Benefiber combination is a viable alternative to sugar in
from 1 to 5 (with 1 for “dislike extremely” to 5 for “like extremely”).  
0   Oatmeal raisin cookies up to a 66% substitution. The similarity in
Nutrition Analysis: Nutritionist Pro software was used to determine   Control   33%  Stevia   50%  Stevia   66%  Stevia   100%  Stevia   taste, texture and overall liking demonstrated 33%, 50% and 66%
the nutrient values for each serving. Equivalent to a single cookie of Fracturability  increased  as  water  ac6vity  decreased.   variations were the most desirable of the variations with a hedonic
30 grams prebaked weight.   Denotes a significant change from the control, P<0.05.   score above 3, neither like nor dislike.