Effects of Isomaltulose and Gamma-Irradiated Taro Flour on Selected Physicochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptance of Pudding

The quality of pudding using different types of sugar (sucrose at 5% by weight or isomaltulose 5% or 10% by weight) in a formulation was studied. Adding isomaltulose resulted in less water being separated (syneresis) from the pudding structure after 15 days of storage and increased texture firmness. The pudding product containing 10% isomaltulose received the highest scores for consumer acceptance for texture, taste, and overall liking (7.00-7.60; moderately to very much liked). The effects of gamma irradiation at different doses (0, 2, 4, and 6 kGy) on taro flour were studied. All doses of irradiation did not significantly (<i>p</i> > 0.05) affect the proximate chemical composition of taro flour. The irradiation dose used to treat taro flour significantly affected (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) the syneresis of the puddings, with increasing doses decreasing the observed syneresis after 15 days of storage while increasing texture firmness. The effects of gamma irradiation on taro flour at 6 kGy resulted in a more pleasant odor, including sweet (toluene), jasmine/sweet (2-cyclopenten-1-one), almond (benzaldehyde), and nutty (2-methyl-3-methylthio-pyrazine) in the pudding sample. Furthermore, such a sample was the most liked (7.30) compared to other pudding samples. This study demonstrated that isomaltulose and irradiated taro flour could be used to produce pudding samples with desirable quality and sensory liking.