Desenvolvimento de pão enriquecido de macroalga desidratada (Gracilaria sp) e sua análise sensorial

Abstract

The macroalgae of the genus Gracilaria are cultivated and used by the algae-growing communities that produce them, such as in Icapui, Ceará, Brazil, where this production, processing and selling of algae is done by the “Mulheres de corpo e alga” project. The objective of this research was to develop an algae-enriched bread using this macroalgae, that was of satisfying sensory quality, elevated purchase intention, and nutritionally richer than the control sample. The dehydrated algae was acquired from the project, and processed in Fortaleza until nearly all in powder form. It was then hydrated, and incorporated into the bread doughs, which were par-baked, and frozen. On the day of the sensory analysis, the breads were baked one last time before being presented to the tasters, with the sensory analysis being based on taster profile, hedonic scale, CATA (Check-all-that-apply) test, and purchase intention. The data was processed with Excel spreadsheets, and inserted into the program XLSTAT. The results indicate that the addition of algae negatively influenced the taster’s perspective in relation to the algae-enriched breads, although, all samples reached na acceptability index above 70%, thus being considered as accepted. The addition of algae leads to the increase in the incidence of attributes such as “appearance of whole wheat bread”, “grainy texture” and “dark color”. The purchase intention of the algae-enriched breads was lesser than that of the control sample, however, great potential was noted for its application in whole wheat/grain products, as well as the makeup of light foods. Its applicability, however, relies on improving the production process and market feasibility, and may be used for generating and complementing income for algae-growing communities.