THE EFFECT OF INULIN ON TEXTURAL PROPERTIES OF DIET STRAWBERRY MARMALADE BASED ON STEVIA

Background and Aim: In general, stresses and an inappropriate way of life have been caused serious health problems for the community individuals, and in the meantime, proper nutrition plays an important role to prevent this issue especially in foods production like marmalades that occur in one of the most important meals. Therefore, in this study, using two sweeteners was investigated to produce functional strawberry marmalade with prebiotic property, which has lower calorie content than similar products.Methods: The effect of two stevia and Inulin sweeteners on sensory properties (taste, smell, color, texture and distribution ability on bread), physicochemical properties (moisture, brix, pH, acidity, water activity and color) and rheological (viscosity and texture) of strawberry marmalade was measured after production and storage at room temperature at intervals of 0, 60, 120 and 180 days.Results: The results showed that with increasing the level of stevia and decreasing the amount of inulin, moisture, brix, a*, b*, H*, C* and viscosity decreased significantly (P<0.01), and water activity and L* were significantly increased (P<0.01). The investigated treatments had a significant reciprocal effect on storage time in all mentioned tests except for acidity, pH, gumminess and chewiness (P<0.01). Moreover, the results revealed that brix, L*, b*, H*, viscosity, hardness and adhesiveness were significantly (P<0.01) increased due to storage time and moisture and water activity were decreased (P<0.01).Conclusion: Inulin, in combination with stevia in treatments No. 3, 4 and 5, can be used to produce healthy marmalade with optimal sensory properties.