Honey - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 140

5.14.6 Oil-Free honey Chips

Theincorporationofhoneyintooil-freechipscanenhancethequalitybyutilizinganovelpro-
cessofmicrowaveenergy,andthemicrowaveprocessoperationhasasigniicantpotentialforthe
color,texture,andlavorenhancementofoil-freechips.Althoughtheseproductsmaylackthecolor,
lavor,andtextureofconventionalpotatochips,theyarepopularbecauseoftheirnutritionaland
healthyaspects.Otherparametersaffectingthequalityoftheinalproductincludeproductvariety,
typesandlevelsofhoney,andmicrowavepowerlevel.Inmostsnackoperations,liquidhoneyisusu-
allyutilizedforinfusionintotheslices,forexample,ofpotatochipspriortomicrowavedehydration,
anddryhoneyisincorporatedintothemixture,forexample,ofpotatomassfortheproductionof
formedpotatochips.
Exceptforthehoney'suniquelavor,itsreducedsugarscoupledwiththeamino-bearingprotein
compoundsofthepotatoandamodiicationofprocessingconditionsstimulatebrowningreactions
foradesiredgolden-browncolorintheproduct.Theliquidhoneypreferredforthistypeofproduct
iscloverhoney(82%Brix)inanamountof4%-6%ofthebrineweight,andthedry(powdered)
honey is the drum-dried with 70% solids in levels 2%-3% of the brine weight. Quality objec-
tivecriteriaforthisproductcategoryincludemoisturecontent,hardness,thickness,salt,color,and
diameteroftheproduct,andsubjectivecriteriaincludemouthfeelandlavor.

5.14.7 honey Snacks and Cereals

ResearchersattheUniversityofIllinois,accordingtotheNationalHoneyBoard,havedevel-
opedandtestedextrudedhoneysnacksthatpossessadvanced-qualitycharacteristicscomparedto
otherestablishedsnacks(e.g.,tortillasnacks).ConsumersensortestsshowninTable5.14indicate
differencesincertainsensorycharacteristics.Forexample,snackswithincreasedhoneylevelstend
toreceivehigheracceptabilityscoresformostsensoryparameters(lavor,hardness,intensity,and
sweetness).
Manufacturersusehoneyinotherextrudedsnacks(puffed,baked,curls,multigrain,andpotato)
in order to promote healthier and better quality snacks (improved surface browning and added
lavor).
Multigrainsnacks .Threeformulas(Tables5.15and5.16)with8%honey,4%brownsugar,and
acontrol(withoutsugar)showthathoneysigniicantlyincreasedbrowninginthemultigrainsnacks
afterbeingfried.Thesnackswith8%honeyproducedmedium-brownpelletsafterextrusioncom-
paredtotheformulaswithbrownsugarandwithoutsugar.
Breakfast cereals . In general, honey is well recognized as an important substitute for sugar
inready-to-eatcerealstosatisfytheconsumer'sbreakfastappetites.Extrusionisacommoncon-
tinuouslyusedprocessingmethodforbreakfastcerealmanufacturing,inwhichapreformeddough
material is cooked, shaped, and puffed by mechanical (pressure) and thermal (heating) energy

table 5.14 acceptability and Intensity Scores of honey Low-Fat Chips on 1-7 Scale points

honey
Level (%)

Overall
acceptability

appearance Flavor texture hardness Sweetness

0 4.9 5.6 4.5 5.7 5.3 2.5

6 5.1 6.0 4.8 5.6 5.5 3.0

12 5.4 5.5 5.3 5.6 5.5 3.9

18 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.6 4.6

Source: LaGrange, V. and Sanders, S.W., Cereal Foods World , 33(10), 833-838, 1988.