1

Effect of Sugar Reduction on Consumer Acceptance and Color of Cupcakes

Final Report

Julia Araiza (Ramirez)

Rachel Dufficy
Kanako Miyoshi
Jessica Ramirez
Teresa Vera

NTRS 410 Experimental Foods

California State University, Los Angeles
April 28st, 2015
Spring 2015

Abstract
Sugar is one of the main ingredients in cupcakes. Higher demand for reduced sugar baked
products has been the focus point of consumers who are targeting better food options. Fructose is
a natural sugar that is found in fruits and vegetables. Fructose is a monosaccharide and sweeter
than sucrose. Less fructose can be used in food production and still have the same relative
sweetness as sugar. Finding alternatives to replace or adjusting the amount of sugar as the
ingredient is important. The objective of this experiment was to assess the change in color and
sensory characteristics of reduced-sugar cupcakes. The independent variable was the sugar. The
control cupcakes were made with sucrose, while variant 1(V1) had 25% fructose and variant 2
(V2) had 35% fructose. The dependent variables, color and consumer acceptance were assessed
with a colorimeter and a 9-point hedonic scale, respectively. The null hypothesis for this
experiment stated that there are no significant differences in color and consumer acceptance
between the control and V1 and V2 cupcakes. The alternative hypothesis stated that there are
significant differences in color and consumer acceptance between the variants and the control
cupcakes. Sensory evaluation determined no significant differences between the control, V1 and
V2. Color evaluation showed a statistical difference (p<0.05) in L* values between V1 and V2.
Also, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) in a* values for control, V1 and V2. No
significant differences were found in b* values for control, V1 and V2.

Keywords: cupcakes, reduced sugar, consumer acceptance, fructose

Introduction/Literature Review/Objectives

In recent years, added sugar in foods has gained increasing interest because it can
correlate to health problems including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Added sugars are the
sugars and syrups that are manually added to foods or drinks during preparation or processing.
Even though sugar is an energy source for human body, added sugar in foods and drinks adds
calories which provide little or no nutritional value to the consumer. These calories are called
empty calories. According to myplate.gov, daily limits for empty calories are based on
estimated calorie needs by a persons age and gender. For example, the recommended daily limit
for a person with 2,000 calories per day is no more than 260 calories of sugar. However,
Americans eat about 20 teaspoons of sugar a day, which is about 320 calories. The following
literature review is organized to emphasize the effects on color of the product and overall
consumer acceptance when sugar is reduced or replaced with alternatives.
Numerous studies have been performed to see the effect of sugar reduction in baked
goods and to evaluate consumer acceptance in color on their products. For instance, a study
performed by Laguna and others (2013) evaluated the acceptance of inulin and erythritol as
partial sucrose replacers in cookies through consumer evaluation. Five samples were tested: fullsucrose cookies as the control, 25% and 50% sucrose replacement by erythritol, 25% and 50%
sucrose replacement by inulin which were respectively named 25SE and 50SE for erythritol and
25SI and 50SI for inulin. As for the sensory analysis, data was obtained through a software
named Compusense 5 release 5.0 software (Laguna and others 2013). 100 untrained consumers
evaluated the product using a 9-point hedonic scale where 1 meant dislike extremely and 9 meant
like extremely. The untrained consumers scored their liking for the acceptance of the products.
As for their results, they concluded that sucrose replacement affects the cookies appearance as

well as the cookies matrix (Laguna and others 2013). It was also noted that the highest toast
intensity increased was the 50SE cookies which followed by the control cookies. They also noted
that the participants found that there was a significant difference in color. Similarly, it was noted
that consumer acceptance decreased with erythritol replacement. The overall acceptable cookie
was the 25SI, which was somewhat close to the control when compared to 25SE and 50SE.
They concluded that erythritol was not suitable from a sensory consumer point compared to
inulin.
Similarly, Lin and others (2010) investigated the quality characteristics of danish cookies
with 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100% of sucrose replaced with erythritol. When evaluating the end product
in surface color, sweetness, hardness and flavor, a 7 point hedonic scale was used. 1 meant
dislike extremely, 4 meant neither like nor dislike and 7 meant like extremely. All 73 participants
received five samples and were asked to rate the products. Panelists evaluated the samples in a
testing area. All data were analyzed by a randomized strategy. As for the results of quality
characteristic, Hunter system was used to evaluate surface color of cookies. Hunter-L value is a
measure of the light-dark fraction of cookie surface color, and it was found that the L-values of
cookies were affected by the replacement of sucrose with erythritol. In their results, they noted
that as the level of erythritol increased, the cookies became lighter (Lin and others 2010). It was
noted that the mean scores from surface color evaluation of cookies decreased (P < 0.05) as the
percentage of erythritol replacement was increased. There was no difference among 0, 25 and
50% erythritol cookies of the surface color, sweetness and hardness. The mean overall scores of
0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% erythritol cookies were 5.4, 5.8, 5.6, 4.6, and 4.4. The overall results
indicated that even a partial replacement of erythritol for sucrose was acceptable for consumers
(Lin and others 2010).

Correspondingly, Martinez and others (2011) assessed physical and sensory

characteristics of low-sucrose muffins. For the muffins, sucrose was replaced 0% (control), 25%,
50%, 75%, and 100% with polydextrose and sucralose (PD-SC). The researchers found that as
the amount of PD-SC increased, the lightness (L* values) of the crumb decreased; also, the
redness (a* values) and yellowness (b* values) decreased. This results indicated that the crumb
gained a more saturated yellowish color as PD-SC increased. There was no significant
differences in L* and the a* values of the muffin crusts, but the b* values were significantly
higher in the muffins with a high degree of substitution of PD-SC for sucrose (Martinez and
others 2011). Therefore, it is concluded that using PD-SC resulted muffins with a more orangey
color than the control muffin; however, it is an acceptable approximation (Martinez and others
2011). Along with the measurement of the color of the muffins, consumer acceptability was
assessed by using a 9-point hedonic scale ranging from 1=dislike extremely to 9=like
extremely.The researchers found that 50% PD-SC muffins had similar acceptability to the
control muffins. However, the 100% PD-SC muffins gained lower acceptability among all, which
seemed to be related the low springiness and high compactness conferred by PD-SC. Martinez
and others (2011) concluded that sucrose can be replaced up to 50% to keep consumer
acceptability of the control muffin.
In a different study, Psimouli and others (2011) investigated the effect of alternative
sweeteners on the batter rheology and cake properties. In the investigation, they used certain
polyols such as mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol, lactitol, fructose, oligofructose, and polydextrose as
equal amount of sugar replacement of each substitute required for the cake formulation (Psimouli
and others 2011). Researchers found main differences in the lightness of the crust and L* values.
For example, Authors found that cakes that contained the sugar substitute mannitol and

polydextrose had significantly lighter crust colour than the control. On the other hand, cakes
containing fructose and oligofructose had significantly darker crust colour. Substituting the sugar
not only affected the L* values colour of the crust, but also the a* and b* values (Psimouli and
others 2011). Cakes substituted with mannitol and sorbitol indicated the lowest values of redness
and yellowness, were as cakes substituted with oligofructose led to high values of both red and
yellow. The study found that overall almost all the sugar substitutes increased the chromatic
parameter of redness of the crumb, but oligofructose led to the highest variance compared to the
control in terms of the colour yellow (Psimouli and others 2011). There was a significant
difference (P<0.05) in the crust colour of fructose, mannitol, and polydextrose cakes compared to
the control. In regards to the crumb colour, the cakes containing sugar substitutes other than
lactitol and polydextrose, were found to be significantly different (P<0.05) when compared to the
control (Psimouli and others 2011). They identified through the instrumental measures values for
the crust colour of L*value, r=0.92 and P<0.05 that correlates with the measurements, but the
crumb colour does not with values of L*, r=0.78, and P<0.05. Psimouli and others (2011), found
that cakes made with with oligofructose, lactitol, polydextrose, and maltitol sugars were
considered similar to the control cake in tenderness and taste. Evidenced by the scorecards, those
cakes made with those specific sugars received the highest consumer acceptance scores of five
and above. However, cakes that were made with mannitol and fructose received low consumer
acceptability scores (Psimouli and others 2011). Psimouli and others (2011) found that the
intense sweeteners did not make suitable sugar replacers, because they did not mask the bitter
after-taste; also, they did not provide the cake with enough tenderness properties, and the crust
and crumb colour resulted either to light or dark for consumer acceptability.

Another study done by Ahmad and others (2012) explored the effect of replacement of
xylitol on the physical and sensory characteristics of rusks. The study focused on the preparation
of rusks, which partially substituted sucrose with different percentage of xylitol (0%, 25%, 50%,
75%, and 100%). The results of color indicated that the color of rusks prepared with xylitol was
lighter than those made from sucrose since xylitol cannot participate in browning reactions due
to lack of an active carbonyl group (Ahmad and others 2012).Consumer acceptability was
tested using a 9 point hedonic scale evaluation by students (n = 25) of National Institute of Food
Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-Pakistan. Overall acceptability
was determined on the basis of quality scores obtained from color, flavor, taste, texture and
crispness (Ahmad and others 2011). The rusks with 50% of xylitol was much liked by the
panelists and got maximum score of 7.92 followed by 25% of xylitol that obtained 7.16 (Ahmad
and others 2011). The control and 75% of xylitol obtained mean score of 6.42 and 6.25
respectively whereas 100% of xylitol got the minimum score of 4.75. Ahmad and others (2011)
concluded that bakery products prepared by xylitol in replacement with sucrose were sensorially
accepted by the consumers.
Studies also show overall consumer acceptability on taste and other factors, for example,
Handa and others (2012) explored the physical and sensory characteristics of short dough
cookies incorporated with fructooligosaccharide to increase soluble fiber content and a low
calorie sweetener. The researchers substituted for a low calorie at variance of 40%, 60%, and
80% sugar replacement basis. Handa and others (2012), used a 9-point hedonic scale (1=dislike
extremely to 9=like extremely) and found that cookies made with 40%, 60%, and 80% sugar
replacement were statistically different (P>0.05) to those of the control cookies (Handa and
others 2012). However, consumer acceptability showed that cookies made with up to 60% sugar

replacement were preferred over control because of the improved textural qualities and
appearance. Findings showed that cookies made with up to 60% sugar replacement increased in
total fiber content by 12.1, indicating that it is suitable for sugar replacement while also lowering
the caloric content (Handa and others 2012). Authors concluded that cookies made with up to
60% sugar replacement were comparable to control cookies for consumer acceptance.
Similarly, in another study conducted by Wail-Alomari and others (2012), hydrolyzed
lebneh whey lactose syrup was used to replace the sugar in French-type bread, cherry cake, and
Kanufah syrup. All three experimental recipes had the sugar replacement variations of 25%,
50%, and 75%. The three products were evaluated by 12 semi-trained panelists from the
Department of Nutrition and Food Technology at the University of Jordan. A 9 point hedonic
scale was used with a score of 9 indicating that the panelist extremely disliked the products and a
1 indicated that the panelist extremely liked the products. The results indicated that there were
significant differences (P < 0.05) between the three variants and the control recipes. The bread
that was prepared with 25% sugar replacement scored better with a 2.46 compared to the control
recipe with a score of 3.00. The 50% sugar replacement recipe scored a 2.70 and the 75% sugar
replacement recipe scored a 3.43. The cherry cake with 25% sugar replacement scored 2.37,
50% sugar replacement scored 2.93, 75% sugar replacement scored 4.57, and the control group
scored 2.10. The Kanufah syrup with 25% sugar replacement scored 1.93, 50% sugar
replacement scored 4.7, 75% sugar replacement scored 4.73, and the control recipe scored 1.96.
The cherry cake and the Kanufah syrup results did not show a significant difference between the
25% sugar replacement and the control recipe. The cherry cake at the 75% level showed a
difference of being disliked by 2.47 points compared to the control group. The Kanufah syrup
with the 50% and 75% sugar replacement recipe both showed a difference of being disliked by

2.77 points. Wail- Alomari and others (2012) concluded that the French-type bread made with
25% sugar replacement was better liked than the control recipe, all the cherry cake variables
were not preferred over the control, and the Kanufah product made with 25% sugar replacement
was preferred by a mere 0.03 point difference.
In another study conducted by Armstrong and others (2009), tagatose was added to baked
products in order to evaluate whether the monosaccharide affected their flavor. The baked
products tested were cinnamon muffins, chocolate cupcakes, and lemon cookies. The reason for
using tagatose is due to tagatose and sucrose being almost identical in sweetness level. The
experimental recipes contained either 1% or 2% added tagatose while the control recipes
contained 1% or 2% sucrose. Consumer acceptability was tested using two triangle tests and one
hedonic line scale evaluation. The panelists (n = 55-81) in this study were faculty, staff, and
students in Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. Since there were three baked products to
test, only one baked product was evaluated by the panelists per day. The triangle tests results for
all three baked products showed that there was no statistical significance (P > 0.05) with both
experimental recipes. The hedonic line scale evaluation had a total line length of 17.4 cm and in
order to show that the panelists liked the flavor of the baked goods a score above 8.7 was needed.
The combined scores of all the panelists showed that the likeness scored were between 10.2 and
12.2, and this indicated that the panelists liked the taste of the baked products. Statistically, the
combined scores for the experimental and the control recipes were the same (P > 0.05). The
researchers concluded that tagatose did not enhance the flavor of the baked product (Armstrong
and others 2009).
There was a sensory evaluation performed by Ferreira and others (2011) on "dulce de
leche" with coffee and whey added. The ingredients used to make the dulce de leche were

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pasteurized whole milk, crystal sugar, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, instant coffee, and milk
whey. There were a total of 9 samples created for this sensory evaluation and each varied in the
amount of whey and coffee they contained. For the sensory evaluation, 60 panelists participated.
The participants were a mixture of students, professors, and employees of the Federal University
of Lavras. In order to evaluate the acceptance of the dulce de leche, the panelists were
instructed to use a nine-point hedonic scale. The scores ranged from 1 = dislike and 9 =
extremely liked. The 9 point hedonic scale was used in the evaluation of the appearance, flavor,
texture, and global impression attributes (Ferreira and others 2011). In order to evaluate the
sweetness and coffee flavor, the just-about right scale was used. For this scale, a score of (+3)
expressed that the sweetness or coffee flavor was much stronger than ideal, a score of (0)
expressed it was ideal, and a score of (-3) was less than ideal. Ferreira and others (2011) found
that there was no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the substitution of milk for whey and the
variations for coffee versus whey. The researchers concluded that the most accepted samples
were 1 (10% whey and 1% coffee), 2 (30% whey and 1% coffee), and 9 (20% whey and 1.25%
coffee). The samples that scored the lowest were samples 5 (5.9% whey and 1.25% coffee) and
8 (20% whey and 1.6% coffee) (Ferreira and others 2011).
Another study done by Volpini-Rapina and others (2012) measured sensory analysis of
sugar in orange cakes with the addition of prebiotics inulin and oligofructose. The researchers
prepared one standard cake, a cake with 77.7 grams of inulin, and cake with 77.7 grams of both
inulin and oligofructose. Panelists gave their preferences, which were mapped on a 9 point
hedonic scale that measured on the acceptability of the appearance, aroma, texture, and flavor.
The scale used was 1=dislike extremely and 9=like extremely. The average of all of the panelists

11

response came out to a 6. The researchers concluded that the addition of the fructans did not
increase the aroma or flavor, they were however preferred (Rapina and others 2012).
The literature review shows that the acceptability varies in baked products when
searching for sugar alternatives to reduce the content of sugar in the products. With the help of
the panelists, the variations helped determine consumer acceptance.
The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the sensory and color characteristics of
reduced sugar cupcakes. The control cupcakes were made with granulated white sugar while the
first variant were made with 25% fructose replacement and the second variant had 35% fructose
replacement.
Hypothesis
The null hypothesis states that there are no significant differences in color or consumer
acceptance (evaluated through a 9-point hedonic scale) among all variants, including the control.
The alternative hypothesis states that there are significant differences in color or consumer
acceptance for all the variants, including the control.
Materials and Methods
All recipe ingredients for the three variants were procured from local grocery stores.
These ingredients are listed in Table 1 of the Cupcake Preparation section of the Methods. The
equipment for both objective evaluation (color) and sensory evaluation were available in the
laboratory, and were used during this experiment. The equipment used is listed in the color and
sensory evaluation sections of the Methods, respectively.
Cupcake Preparation
Refer to Attachment 2 in the Appendix for the adapted recipe with original measurements
and Attachment 3 for Nutrition Label information.

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Table 1: Cupcake Formula

Ingredients (g)

Granulated
White Sugar
Control or Variant 1

25% Reduced
Fructose

35% Reduced
Fructose

Variant 2

Variant 3

White
Granulated Sugar

223.38

Fructose

167.54

145.20

Baking Powder,
Double Acting

7.28

7.28

7.28

Salt

1.90

1.90

1.90

Large egg

63.32

63.32

63.32

Unsalted Butter

95.90

95.90

95.90

Whole milk

193.12

193.12

193.12

White All-purpose
Flour

237.44

237.44

237.44

Vanilla Extract

2.66

2.66

2.66

TOTAL

825.00

769.16

746.82

All of the ingredients listed above were converted to grams using ESHA Food Processor
(Version 10.11 ESHA, Salem, OR, USA) from the standard recipe in the Appendix as
Attachment 2. The first step of cupcake preparation was to preheat the oven to 350 oF. Each
ingredient was weighed out for all three variants according to Table 1 (above) using the scale.
For all variations, the white all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt were combined and sifted
together in a medium bowl. In a separate large bowl, butter was creamed for 4 minutes on level 2
using Kitchen Aid mixer. Then, white granulated sugar or fructose were added gradually in 4

13

parts to the butter and creamed for 2 minutes on level 2 at each addition. The eggs were added
one at a time to the butter mixture and beaten well on level 4 after each addition. In a small bowl,
milk and vanilla were combined. About one quarter of the flour mixture was added to the butter
mixture and mixed well. Then, about one quarter of the milk mixture was added to the butter
mixture and mixed well. Alternating the flour mixture and milk mixture was continued, and the
mixture was beaten after each addition. Total time of mixing both the flour mixture and milk
mixture to the butter mixture was 10 minutes on level 2. Cupcake liners were placed on the
cupcake tins and canola oil was sprayed on them. While the batter was poured into the cupcake
tins, each cupcake batter was weighted at 37g 2. Then, they were baked for 15 minutes in the
oven using the center rack. After baking, the cupcakes were removed from the oven and allowed
to cool to room temperature (<30oC) before undergoing sensory and objective evaluation.

Sensory Evaluation
10 untrained panelists assessed and recorded the extent of liking of the cupcakes by
selecting a category on a 9-point hedonic scale that ranges from extreme like to extreme
dislike (Refer to Attachment 1 in the Appendix).

The data helped evaluate the overall

acceptability of the products.

Color
CIELab color was measured with using a Minolta Chroma Meter (Model CR-410,
Konica Minolta Sensing Americas, Inc., Ramsey, NJ, USA), which will be calibrated using a
Minolta white calibration plate No. 17333240 for CR-200/CR-300/CR400 with 2 OBSERVER
to measure lightness (L*), red/green (a*), and yellow/blue (b*) color values. Readings were

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collected from the center of each sample. A total of two (2) samples of the cupcakes were
randomly chosen per variant (3).
Statistical Analysis
Experiment was replicated twice to obtain better and accurate results. Data was collected
and combined for analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), descriptive statistics and t-tests were
performed using Excel 2010. Alpha level was set at P = 0.05.

Results and Discussion

The results of the sensory and color evaluations are presented below in Table 2.
TABLE 2: Mean Standard Deviations (SD) of White Cupcake Results for Consumer
Acceptance and Color
Treatment

Hedonic Score

Color (L*)

Color (a*)

Color (b*)

Control
Sucrose

7.201.47a

72.144.34ab

-1.300.18a

23.053.53a

Variant 1 (V1)
25% Fructose

7.201.54a

72.230.53a

-1.460.11a

20.490.82a

Variant 2 (V2)
35% Fructose

6.651.53a

74.511.76b

-1.190.30a

20.001.52a

MeansSD of two replicates; 10 judges per variant within replicate one and 10 judges per
variant within replicate two.
MeansSD of two replicants; 2 readings per variant within each replicant.
abc
Means within the same column with the same letter are not significantly different (p>0.05)
Sensory Evaluation
Sensory evaluations using a 9-point hedonic scale were performed to test for consumer
acceptance. A score of 9 in the scale meant that the panelists extremely liked the product. The
means of the hedonic tests were highest for the control and V1 with 7.20, followed by V2 with
6.65. Significant differences would be determined at (P<0.05). Comparing the control and V1,

15

the P-value was 1.00 which means that there was no significant difference. There was no
significant difference between the control and V2 since the P-value was 0.20. We also found that
there was no significant difference between V1 and V2 with a P-value of 0.16. While the control
and V1 did score higher than V2 by 0.55 points on the hedonic scale, the results of the sensory
evaluation determined that there was no significant difference which means that our null
hypothesis was accepted.
Measurement of Color
Colorimeter is a piece of equipment that we used to measure L*, a*, and b* values of our
cupcakes. From each variant two cupcakes were chosen in a random order to measure their color.
L* values represent the measure of lightness and this scale goes from 0 to 100, which also means
from dark to light. The measurements for L* values were all high (72.14, 72.23, 74.51), which
means that the cupcakes had a light tone to them. L* values for lightness showed no significant
difference (P>0.05) among the three variants. These L* value measurements supported the null
hypothesis. L* value of the control versus V1 and control versus V2 showed no significant
differences (P>0.05); therefore we retained the null hypotheses. However, L* value between V1
and V2 showed a statistical difference (p<0.05) and therefore we rejected the null hypothesis.
Red and green tones are identified by measuring a* values. There was no significant difference
(P>0.05) in a* values of any of three variants. The null hypothesis was accepted for these
measurements. The mean values of the control (1.30), V1 (1.46), and V2 (-1.19) indicate that the
control, V1, V2 had mildly green hues. For b* values, which measures the hue on a continuum
from yellow to blue, no significant differences were found between control, V1, and V2 (means
= control: 23.05, V1: 20.49, and V2: 20.00) with (P>0.05). The null hypothesis was retained for

16

all three measurements. In looking at the mean values, the positive means indicate that all the
cupcakes contained yellower hues rather than bluer hues.

Nutrition Information
Table 3: Nutrition Facts for the Cupcake Control and Variants
Product
(g/serving)

Calories
(kcal)

Total Fat
(g)

Total
Carb. (g)

Fiber (g)

Sugars (g)

Protein (g)

Control
Granulated
White Sugar
(80g)

260

40

23

Variant 1
25%
Reduced
Fructose
(80g)

240

10

34

12

Variant 2
35%
Reduced
Fructose
(80g)

240

11

33

11

The results of the ESHA analysis are listed in Table 3, Nutrition Facts for the Cupcake
Control and Variants, above. It showed that the amount of total carbohydrates and sugars
decreased significantly as sugar was reduced in V1 and V2 when compared to the control. The
control was different from both V1 and V2 with higher calories, carbohydrate, and sugar content
and lower fat content. V1 was quite similar to V2 with the same amount of calories and fiber per
serving and only small differences in total fat, total carbohydrate content, sugars and protein. All
three variations contained 1 g of fiber per 80 g of serving. Since both V1 and V2 have less
carbohydrate and sugar content and lower calories, fructose would be a good substitute for

17

sucrose (granulated white sugar) when preparing reduced sugar cupcake alternatives that are
similar to the regular basic recipe.

Conclusion and Future Work

The purpose of this research experiment was to develop a white cupcake using a sugar
alternative to reduce sugar content. The sugar alternative of our choice was fructose which was
used in two different amounts: 25% and 35%. The sensory evaluation determined there were no
significant differences between the control, V1 and V2. All three products were accepted in the
sensory evaluation. In terms of color, L* value between V1 and V2 showed a statistical
difference (p<0.05) and therefore we rejected the null hypothesis. There was no significant
difference (P>0.05) in a* values of any of three variants. There was no significant difference
(P>0.05) in b* values of any of the three variants. The sensory evaluation suggested that fructose
was an acceptable sugar alternative for the white cupcakes. The color evaluation suggested that
L* values were on the higher end suggesting that they had light tones, a* values had mildly green
hues, and b* values had yellow hues.
Future experiments could be performed using a larger group of panelists. The panelists
used may be students who are not nutritional science majors, professors, and faculty from the
university. By using many panelists, the results could be strengthened due to the variety of
hedonic scores. Another recommended change may be using artificial sweeteners such as
Splenda or SweetN Low or replacing sugar with natural sugars from fruits such as raisins or
blueberries. Making some changes to the sugar content might provide lower calories to the
consumer; therefore, making it a better food option.
References

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Ahmad F, Rehman S, Mushtaq Z. 2012. Impact of Xylitol on Physicochemical and Sensory

Parameters of Rusks. World Appl. Sci. J. 20(9):1287-1292.
Armstrong, L., Luecke K., Bell, L. 2009. Consumer evaluation of bakery product flavour
asaffected by incorporating the prebiotic tagatose. Food Sci. Technol. 44, 815-819.
Ferreira LO, Pimenta CJ, Pinheiro AC, Pereira PA, Santos G. 2011. Sensory evaluation of "dulce
de leche" with coffee and whey using different affective data analysis methods. Sci-ELO 31(4)
Handa C., Goomer S., & Siddhu A. 2012. Physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation of
fructoligosaccharide enriched cookies. Food Sci. Technol. 49(2):192-199.
Laguna L, Primo Martn C, Salvador A, & Sanz T. 2013. Inulin and erythritol as sucrose
replacers in short dough cookies: sensory, fracture, and acoustic properties. J Food Sci
78(5):S777-S784.
Lin D, Lee C C, Mau J L, Lin L Y, Chiou, S Y. 2010. Effect of erythritol on quality
characteristics of reduced-calorie danish cookies. J Food Qua. 33(s1), 14-26.
Martinez-Cervera S, Sanz T, Salvador A, Fiszman S.M. 2011. Rheological, textural and sensorial
properties of low-sucrose muffins reformulated with sucralose/polydextrose. Food Sci. Technol.
45(2):213-220.
Psimouli V. Oreopoulou V. 2011. The effect of alternative sweeteners on batter rheology and
cake properties. J Sci Food Agric. 92:99-105.
Volpini-Rapina LF, Sokei FR, Conti-Silva AC. Sensory profile and preference mapping of orange
cakes with addition of prebiotics inulin and oligofructose. 2012. Food Sci.Technol. 48(1):37-42.
Wail-Alomari, Alsaed K., Hadadin M. 2012. Utilization of Labneh Whey Lactose
HydrolyzedSyrup in Baking and Confectionery. Pak. J. Nutr. 11(8):688-695.

Attachment 1
ACCEPTABILITY TEST FOR SUGAR-REDUCED CUPCAKES

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You may rinse your mouth with water at any time during the test if you need to. Please taste the
samples according to the 3-digit random code provided on the samples and the ballot. You may
not go back and re-taste the samples. No talking during sensory testing.
Check the box that best describes your overall opinion of each sample
3-Digit Sample
Numbers
(9) LIKE
EXTREMELY

(8) LIKE VERY

MUCH

(7) LIKE
MODERATELY

(6) LIKE
SLIGHTLY

(5) NEITHER
LIKE NOR
DISLIKE

(4) DISLIKE
SLIGHTLY

(3) DISLIKE
MODERATELY

(2) DISLIKE VERY

MUCH

(1) DISLIKE
EXTREMELY

Appendix Attachment 2
Recipe

20

CUPCAKES- Control
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake tins as directed in the recipe you are following.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate, larger bowl, cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar, creaming until light and
fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
5. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla.
6. To the butter mixture, add about one quarter of the flour mixture and mix well. Add about one
quarter of the milk mixture and mix well. Continue alternating the flour mixture and milk
mixture, beating after each addition until smooth.
7. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back
when touched.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of the tins
and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

This recipe was adapted from White Cupcakes which can be accessed at
White Cupcakes. Available from:http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/white-cupcakes232944 Accessed April 20, 2015.

Appendix Attachment 3
Labels
Control

21

25% Fructose

22

23

35% Fructose