Development of chocolate dairy dessert with addition of prebiotics and replacement of sucrose with different high-intensity sweeteners

The aims of this study were (1) to optimize the formulation of a prebiotic chocolate dairy dessert and assess the extent to which sensory properties were affected by adding different concentrations of prebiotics (inulin and fructooligosaccharides) combined with different levels of xanthan and guar gums, and (2) to analyze the ideal and relative sweetness of prebiotic chocolate milk dessert sweetened with different artificial and natural sweeteners. Acceptability was evaluated by 100 consumers using a 9-cm hedonic scale, and the level of sample creaminess was evaluated using a 9-point just-about-right (JAR) scale. Data were subjected to a multivariate regression analysis and fitted to a model provided by response surface methodology. The optimal concentrations were 7.5% (wt/wt) prebiotic and 0.20% (wt/wt) gum (guar and xanthan, in a 2:1 ratio). The ideal sweetness analysis revealed that the ideal concentration of sucrose was 8.13%. The relative sweetness analysis showed that Neotame (NutraSweet Corp., Chicago, IL) had the highest sweetening power compared with the prebiotic chocolate dairy dessert containing 8% sucrose, followed by sucralose, aspartame, and stevia. The study of sweetness in this product is important because consumers desire healthier functional products with no added sugar.