Chicory syrup as a substitution of sugar in fine pastry

Fine pastry is a favorite snack but contains big amount fats and sugars. Sugar consumption is a major factor in the development of diabetes and obesity. Because of the growing interest in low-calorie alternatives to sucrose, producers react with different new products which can replace sugar and do not compromise the consumer acceptability of food products. This study deals with replacement of sugar with chicory oligofructose syrup, which provides same sweetness as sugar but contain over 70 % of fiber. Chicory syrup is composed of oligo-fructose and inulin. Inulin-type fructans are beneficial for immune and cardiovascular systems and its prebiotic function can protect colon health. In this study, the influence of sucrose (7 g.100g-1) replacement with chicory oligofructose syrup (0; 3.5; 7 g.100g-1) on the texture, specific loaf volume and sensory acceptability of biologically leavened muffins was tested. The substitution of sugar by the chicory syrup decreased specific loaf volume from 2.15 to 2.01 mL.g-1 while hardness, springiness and chewiness increased. There was no detrimental impact of syrup addition to cohesiveness of fine pastry muffin. It was observed that due to the syrup addition, pastry hardens faster, as showed results of hardnesss measured after 24 h. Bread crumb and crust sensory characteristics were not affected by the syrup addition. Weak impact of sugar replacement on sensory evaluation may be related to a reduced amount of the panelists involved in this study. More extensive study will, however, be performed to describe the impact of sugar replacement of fine biologically leavened muffins in more details. The results of this preliminary study shows, that the substitution of sugar by chicory syrup change textural properties and loaf volume. Despite all, based on sensory analysis the chicory syrup up to amount 7 g.100g-1 seems to be adequate for its use as a sugar replacer in fine pastry as biologically leavened muffins.