Optimization and Nutritional Analysis of Low Calorie Functional Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a fermented dairy product and it is well-known in the western half of India's southern peninsula. The high sugar content of shrikhand contributes to total energy intake; carbohydrates are the food group that both dieters and diabetics are most limited from eating. An attempt was made to develop shrikhand by substituting sugar with aqueous extracts of stevia and liquorice, followed by the addition of guava pulp and aqueous extracts of dragon fruit peel at various levels. Initially, sugar of 40% of chakka weight was substituted by aqueous extracts of stevia and liquorice in four different ratios viz., 75:12.5:12.5(T1), 50:25:25(T2), 25:37.5:37.5(T3), 0:50:50(T4) of sugar to aqueous extracts of stevia and liquorice with control (T0) in the ratio of 100:0:0 and the low calorie shrikhand was optimized. Then it was followed by the addition of guava pulp at different concentrations viz., 5% (TG1), 10% (TG2), 15% (TG3), 20% (TG4) of chakka weight and aqueous extract of dragon fruit peel of 5% (TD1), 10% (TD2), 15% (TD3), 20% (TD4) of chakka weight to incorporate fibre and antioxidant properties in shrikhand respectively. Using a 9-point hedonic scale, sensory qualities (colour and appearance, body and texture, flavour and overall acceptability) of the developed product were evaluated by the semi-trained panels. As a result of sensory evaluation, the shrikhand with 50:25:25 ratio of sugar to aqueous extract of stevia and liquorice, 15% of guava pulp of chakka weight and 10% of aqueous extract of dragon fruit peel of chakka weight scored the highest overall acceptability of 8.13±0.26, 8.49±0.14 and 8.33±0.49  respectively. The mean ± SE values of moisture, total solids, protein, fat, fibre, total ash content, carbohydrates and energy of the control were 54.43±0.03, 47.57±0.02, 10.56±0.09, 13.14±0.02, 0, 0.98±0.01, 20.89±0.07 and 224.03±4.15 whereas the corresponding average values of the functional shrikhand were 67.61±0.05, 32.39±0.01, 11.21±0.04, 2.39±0.03, 5.78±0.09, 0.99±0.02, 12.02±0.05 and 96.43±3.26 respectively.