Studies were carried out to develop nutritious gels using gellan gum (1–2%, w/w), mango pulp (0–40%), sugar (0–20%) and ferrous sulfate (0–0.10%). Ferrous sulfate was added as the source of iron in the gels. In addition, flaxseed powder (0–10%) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) (0‐5%) were incorporated to selected gel samples. The storage modulus (G′) of the sols varied widely from 0.47 to 7,147.50 Pa, and depended on the levels of the four variables. The loss modulus (0.21–626.40 Pa) of sols was mostly affected by mango pulp. Fracture strain of the gels varied between 10.4 and 57.5%; it was mainly affected by the concentrations of mango pulp followed by FeSO4 and sugar. The optimized gel, produced with gellan, pulp, sugar, FeSO4, flaxseed powder and WPC, resulted in the sensory overall acceptability of 8.2 and the desirability index of 85.8%. These results are expected to be useful for developing chewy/springy fabricated gels.
Practical Applications
Fabricated gel with unique nutritional and consumer acceptability is an expanding field of research and commercial exploitation. The rheological and sensory attributes are the key features for acceptance of such products. The present paper thus deals with the role of such gel forming ingredients using gellan gum. The results of this investigation are expected to be useful for the development of nutrient enriched gels incorporated with fruit source (mango), iron source (FeSO4), flaxseed and whey protein isolate.