Exploring sugar reduction in bakery products: Physico-chemical and sensory characterization of biscuits added with natural aromas

This paper aimed at evaluating physico-chemical quality, sensory description, and drivers of liking of biscuits made with reduced sugar content and added natural aromas: vanilla (V), cinnamon (CA), and ripe lemon (L) to a standard formulation (S). Liking assessment as well as a descriptive sensory analyses by means of Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) questionnaire were performed on biscuit samples. There was no statistically significant difference among treatments for initial and final height, spread ratio, fracturing, and hardness. The formulations L and CA showed statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) concerning initial and final weight. The formulation L presented the highest averages for apparent and specific volume when compared to S. There was a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) for the lightness “L” (69.1) being significantly lighter than CA (65.1). Chemical analysis demonstrated statistically significant difference in ashes and protein for S, but not for moisture, lipids, carbohydrates, and calories. All biscuits were accepted by the consumers. In particular, S was the preferred one (76.5) and was comparable to L (71.6). Biscuits with cinnamon (CA) and vanilla (V) aromas obtained comparable liking scores (58.2 and 53.8, respectively). Check-All-That-Apply results showed that sweet taste was crucial in influencing consumers’ acceptance. The most promising biscuit was lemon flavored one (L), which was described by sensory attributes similar to S and the ideal biscuits.