FREE COMMENT FOR THE SENSORY CHARACTERIZATION OF SAUSAGES CONTAINING FLOURS FROM COCOA AND RICE BY-PRODUCTS

The reuse of agro-industrial residues to obtain new ingredients is an urgent need within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, to predict the sensory success of applying these byproducts in food matrices, it is essential to gather direct consumer feedback. This study aimed to sensorially characterize Frankfurt sausages containing cocoa pod flour and rice bran at 2.5% and 5%, either individually or combined in equal proportions. A control treatment without flour was included. The sausage samples were fried in oil at 180°C and then served to consumers (n = 85) in approximately 5 g portions. The frying process is typical in the consumption of sausages in Peru. Consumers evaluated overall liking (OL) on a 9-point hedonic scale, and the sensory characteristics were obtained using the free comment (FC) method. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test per cell, ANOVA and Tukey's test at p < 0.05, correspondence analysis, and penalty analysis. The control treatment was characterized as the lightness in color, hardest, and least brown, while a higher concentration of cocoa pod flour resulted in a greater presence of the brown and soft attributes. At 2.5% cocoa pod flour, the mentions of crispy and dry were statistically higher. The correspondence analysis (79.1% of the data variability) was consistent with the individual differences in sensory attributes. OL was similar across all treatments, with scores around 7 points. The impact of sensory terms on OL showed that the attribute “juicy” had the greatest positive impact, followed by “fatty”, “crispy”, “meaty”, “flavorful”, “dry”, “light color” and “hard”, while the attributes “soft”, “brown”, “salty”, and “seasoned” had the negative impact. It is concluded that the inclusion of cocoa pod flour at 2.5% improves the sensory profile of the sausages by increasing the perceived crispiness and dryness of the product.