A CHOCOLATE MILK DRINK PREPARATION ENRICHED WITH BABASSU MESOCARP FLOUR (Orbignya oleifera) AS AN ALTERNATIVE IN SCHOOL FEEDING

Abstract

The state of Maranhão has alternative foods of plant origin, especially those from the babassu palm (Orbignya oleifera). The fruit mesocarp is a by-product with important nutritional value that has been widely studied in the development and enrichment of new food products, and an alternative in school feeding. The aim of this study was to develop and sensorially evaluate a dairy drink enriched with babassu mesocarp flour (BMF) and whey. Three formulations of chocolate milk drink were prepared, one without the addition of BMF flour (F0 = control) and two with different percentages of BMF (F1 = 4% and F2 = 6%). To determine the drink with the greatest sensory acceptance, an acceptance test and purchase intention were carried out with 80 untrained tasters. Physicochemical analyses (moisture, ash, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates) were then performed on the most sensorially accepted drink. It was observed that, in relation to the habit of consuming chocolate milk drink, more than half of the judges (56%) indicated that they consume it daily. Among the formulations presented, the most sensorially accepted was F2 (6% BMF), which showed better acceptance than F1, regarding color and aroma attributes, but did not differ statistically regarding residual flavor and texture attributes. Regarding purchase intention, the two formulations with mesocarp had good intention from consumers and did not differ statistically from each other, however, the formulation with 6% obtained a greater interest in purchase intention from tasters in relation to the formulation without mesocarp. The physicochemical analyses of the most accepted formulation (F2) stood out for presenting reasonable carbohydrate contents (17.8%), adequate protein contents (2.0%) and low lipid content (0.9%), being considered a healthy drink by consumers. Thus, babassu mesocarp flour presented itself as a suitable and viable form for the development and enrichment of high consumption food products.