Replacement of gelatin with liquid Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage in marshmallows. Part 1: Physical parameters

The objective of this study was to replace gelatin in marshmallows with differentconcentrations of fluid mucilage, combined with different concentrations of powderedhydrocolloids. Nine different formulations were prepared: control (100% gelatin); 75%mucilage + 25% xanthan (MX); 75% mucilage + 25% agar-agar (MA); 75% mucilage + 25%guar (MG); 80% mucilage + 20% xanthan (8M2X); 80% mucilage + 20% agar-agar (8M2A);80% mucilage + 20% guar (8M2G); 75% mucilage + 12.5% xanthan + 12.5% agar-agar (MXA);75% mucilage + 12.5% xanthan + 12.5% guar (MXG); and 75% mucilage + 12.5% agar-agar+ 12.5% guar (MAG). Consistency, texture, tenderness of gel and shear measurements weredetermined, along with color (L* values, as well as C* and Hº values) and aw. There weresignificant (p<0.05) differences between the different samples for all measurements. The bestformulation for gelatin replacement was found to be the 75% mucilage + 12.5% xanthan +12.5% agar combination (MXA), as it only differed significantly (p<0.05) from the control (100%gelatin) sample in regard to shear, as measured by the Warner Bratzler Shear. It wassignificantly (p<0.05) less tender and resembled the shear of commercially availablemarshmallows in South Africa. All samples had a light, greyish yellow color.