SENSORY ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCE AND PREFERENCE OF COOKIES PRODUCED WITH DIFFERENT GRANULOMETRIES OF BROWN SUGAR

The sensory quality of biscuits can be influenced by physical characteristics of the ingredients such as particle size. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of brown sugar granulometry on the sensory characteristics and preference of cookies 3 formulations of cookies were elaborated, with standardized amounts of wheat flour, margarine, egg and chemical yeast. Formulation 1 contained only brown sugar, Formulation 2 brown and caster sugar, and Formulation 3 contained brown sugar, caster sugar, and chocolate chips. All formulations were produced with 3 granulometries of brown sugar passed through sieves (mesh): fine, above 45; medium with 35-45 and thick with 30. The sensory test of difference (color, sweet aroma, crunchiness, firmness and sweet taste) and preference (color, aroma, sweetness, texture and overall preference) was applied using 60 tasters. For data analysis, the Friedman test (p≤0.05) was used. The results showed that for Formulation 1, there was a noticeable difference for crispiness, the tasters showed that the cookies made with coarse-grained brown sugar were crunchier than those made with fine-grained sugar. However, these differences did not interfere with the preference of the evaluated attributes. Regarding the difference results for Formulation 2, the color of the cookies was influenced by the granulometry of the brown sugar, and the fine-grained sugar resulted in a darker color, but there was no statistical difference for consumer preference