Summary of a research project funded by the National Honey Board and conducted
at Kansas State
University. Investigators: Fadi Aramouni, PhD, Edgar Chambers IV, PhD,
and David Winkler, Graduate Research
Assistant.
Gourmet spreads are one of the most versatile products within the food industry. Such products may be used in several applications, from tasty toppings for bagels and ice cream to flavorful fillings for a variety of baked goods. These products are produced by large and small manufacturers alike. Having shown in prior research that stable, high quality honey fruit spread formulations are attainable,1 the objective of this research was to develop honey-spread formulations that continue to meet the needs of small, specialty food manufacturers.
Following the Dyce process for making crystallized honey, researchers used liquid U.S. grade A honey for 90 spread formulations, which included combinations of one or more of the following ingredients:
The base for the honey spread consisted of 10 percent finely crystallized honey (seed) mixed with 10 percent grade A pasteurized honey. The remaining 80 percent grade A pasteurized honey was added slowly to this homogenous mixture; gradual addition being optimal to avoid incorporating unwanted air. The various ingredients were added within a few hours after the honey spread attained the desired consistency. The ingredients were thoroughly mixed with a Barnant Mixer (model 704-344). See Flow Diagram.
Researchers examined at least four levels of the six nut/flavor combinations added to the spreads to develop the final product formulations (Table 1). The final nut spreads were incubated at 57°F for five days in sealable plastic containers.
A group of food science professionals selected 11 of the 14 products to be tested by 100 consumers: blueberry, Brazil nut, chocolate, cinnamonraisin, coffee-pecan, golden roasted peanut, granolacinnamon, peach, raspberry, strawberry and walnut.
To avoid tasting fatigue, the testing procedure followed the Balanced Incomplete Block Design method2--thus each person tested six of the 11 spreads. These panelists were also asked how frequently they used honey.
Researchers chose one product from each category of spreads for shelf-life analysis: chocolate, golden roasted peanut, granolacinnamon, strawberry. Each spread was subjected to eight tests at 30-day intervals (0, 30, 60, 90 and 180) to determine its overall stability at room temperature: brix (percent solids), color, moisture, pH, refractive index, texture, water activity and yeast/mold counts.
In this study, honey spreads containing nuts and the blueberry spread scored higher in sensory tests than the other spreads. Most of the honey-fruit spreads scored in the mid-range of products for overall acceptability; cinnamon raisin and peach flavors scored the lowest.
Of the 100 consumers who tested these 11 products, 87 percent had used honey in the preceding six months, 50 percent said that they ate honey less than once a month and 22 percent ate honey one to three times a month.
Overall, these consumers preferred the nut-containing honey spreads over the other spreads (Table 2). Of the four nut spreads tested, the walnut- honey spread earned the highest rating for “ overall liking” while the coffee-pecan spread rated first for “liking of flavor” and “ liking of sweetness.” The blueberry spread scored relatively close to the nut spreads in “overall liking.”
Three non-nut spreads rated highest in the remaining two sensory tests. The cinnamon- raisin and strawberry products ranked first for “strength of flavor” while the raspberry spread came out on top for “strength of sweetness.”
The only significant change at six months occurred in the texture of the four products. The spreads with nuts or fruits stiffened slightly at the surface. The fruits and nuts also migrated to the top of these spreads. Rotating the products end over end during the incubation period prevents this phenomenon. Reducing the incubation period may decrease the amount of crystallization in some of the products as well.
Several conclusions may be drawn from the results of this study:
©2007 National Honey Board
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