Characterization of meringue formulated with different palm sugar substitutes

Sugar acts as a stabilizing agent by binding with the water and giving a stable shape to the meringue. The addition of sugar is the critical point in the production of meringue, as it is expected to increase the temperature of protein denaturation, as well as to reduce the drainage of foam which indicates high stability. This study aimed to determine the effects of palm sugar substitution on the total soluble solids, and physicochemical (i.e., pH, moisture, specific volume, hardness, colour profiles), functional (i.e., foam capacity and stability), rheological (i.e., viscosity) and sensorial (i.e., colour, smoothness, aroma, hardness, adhesiveness, sweetness, overall acceptability) properties of whipped meringue and/or baked meringues. According to the results, substituting 70% coconut palm sugar (CPS) in meringue formulation significantly increased (P<0.05) its foam capacity (%). Following that, the substitution of 70% nypa palm sugar (NPS) significantly increased (P<0.05) the moisture, foam capacity (%), and hardness of meringue cookies. The total soluble solids, pH, and colour (lightness) of coconut and nypa palm sugar meringues, as well as the specific volume and colour (lightness) of both meringue cookies, have decreased significantly compared to the control. Additionally, nypa palm sugar meringue has significantly decreased (P<0.05) its viscosity and foam stability (%). For overall acceptability, NPS50% meringue cookies have the highest overall acceptability (7.63), followed by NPS70% (7.60) and CPS50% (7.10) with no significant differences (P>0.05) to each other in most of their physicochemical, rheological, and functional qualities but majorly showed significant differences to control.