Physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation of yogurt nutritionally enriched with papaya

Yogurts are one of the most consumed dairy products, especially in Western and MiddleEast countries. Papaya is an abundant tropical fruit that contains much higher levels ofvitamins and minerals than other tropical fruits. The aim of this work was to develop aprotein-rich papaya-flavored yogurt as an inexpensive, nutritionally balanced, healthysnack. The influenced of adding papaya puree at different percentages (5, 10, 15, 20, 25%)on physicochemical and rheological have been explored. This work also investigatedconsumer preferences in relation to these yogurts, using ratings made by thirty Malaysianparticipants on a five-point hedonic scale. The addition of papaya to the pure yogurt (up to25% by weight) increased the product’s crude protein content by up to 46% and reducedits fat content by up to 27%. Nevertheless, the addition of 20% of papaya puree to theyogurt was the most preferred according to sensory evaluation. On most of the attributestested, participants gave higher ratings for the yogurt nutritionally enriched with papayathan for the pure yogurt. The enrichment of natural yogurt with papaya puree showed tobe effective with higher nutritional characteristics.