Introduction. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of replacing sucrose with polydextrose (E 1200) on the rheological characteristics and sensory properties of starch-milk desserts sweetened with steviol glycosides (E 960). The study materials were desserts made of oxidized potato starch (E 1404), skimmed milk powder, curcumin, vanilla flavorsucrose and/or a mixture of polydextrose (E 1200) and steviol glycosides (E 960). As part of the rheological analyses, the pasting characteristics, viscosity curves and mechanical spectra of the desserts were determined. As part of the sensory analysis, palatability and texture were assessed using a quantitative descriptive analysis. The acceptability of the desserts was also assessed.
Results and discussion. Based on the results, it was found that the partial or complete elimination of sucrose from the composition of desserts and replacing it with a mixture of polydextrose and steviol glycosides led to a reduction in their maximum viscosity determined at the heating stage in the pasting test, but did not change the starch pasting temperature. The desserts showed shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluid properties, and the modification of the recipe resulted in a reduction of the consistency coefficient and a reduction in the share of elastic properties without a significant impact on the viscous properties of the system. The desserts in which sucrose was completely, or in a greater degree, replaced with polydextrose and steviol glycosides had a cooling effect and had a licorice aftertaste in the sensory assessment, while retaining sweetness similar to the sweetness of the dessert sweetened with sucrose only. The modification of the dessert recipe did not affect the adhesiveness and mouth melting of the finished products, but contributed to a reduction in their viscosity and malleability assessed by the sensory analysis. Both the texture and palatability of the desserts prepared to the recipe, in which two-third of the amount of sucrose or its total amount was replaced with polydextrose and steviol glycosides, turned out to be less sensorily acceptable than the dessert which did not contain polydextrose.