Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Special Food and Nutrition Department, Food Technology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, 12618, Giza, Egypt.
2
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture (for Girls), Al-Azhar University, 11884 Cairo, Egypt
3
Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture (for Girls), Al-Azhar University, 11884 Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract
Marshmallows are among the oldest confections known to humankind. In today's world, there is a growing trend towards maximizing the use of natural sources in food processing while avoiding artificial colors and flavors. The market currently offers a diverse range of confectionery products, which, although integral to the human diet, tend to have low nutritional value and high energy content. This research focuses on producing marshmallows using natural sources for both color and flavor, such as red beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and carrot (Daucus carota L.). Marshmallows made with red beet and carrot juices demonstrated improvements in nutritional value, physical parameters, color, mineral content, antioxidant activity, and sensory evaluation. The orange marshmallow (carrot) exhibited the highest calcium and selenium content (532.65 and 0.74 mg/kg), whereas the marshmallow with red beet juice had higher levels of iron, magnesium, and zinc compared to other treatments. The antioxidant capacity for red beet samples was 63.31%, surpassing other samples. The lowest antioxidant activity was found in the imported control sample (1) at 44.30%, but its vitamin content (vitamin C 23 mg and vitamin E 1.30 mg) was higher than other samples. Sensory evaluation results revealed no significant differences in flavor and texture among the samples, except for the marshmallow with red beet juice, which scored lower. Producing two kinds of marshmallows with natural color and flavor is feasible, economical, and applicable, making them a suitable choice as a natural confectionery with healthy food coloring. m
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