Acceptability of yacon flakes (Smallanthus sonchifolia) for dietary use with inulin

This study aimed to elaborate on yacon flakes and determine the proximal composition offresh yacon and final flakes, made at different temperatures (120°C, 150°C and 180°C) for20 mins. We measured the acceptability of the sensory attributes: taste, texture, odour andcolour and the global acceptability at the laboratory level, using semi-trained panellistsand an unstructured hedonic scale. The acceptability of the flakes was measured atdifferent temperatures. Our results indicate that the flakes made at 180°C had the highestacceptance (87%), and the flakes made at 120°C had 80% of unacceptability. Our datawere analysed according to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test. We foundsignificant differences between the averages of the taste scores (T0:7.1; T1:7.6; T2:6.7;T3:4.6), p<0.05; texture (T0:7.1; T1:7.2; T2:5.7; T3:4.5), p<0.05; and odour (T0:7.2;T1:7.6; T2:5.1; T3:3.3), p<0.05. The amount of fructooligosaccharides on a fresh basiswas Ⱦ±SD (31.60±0.650) and on a dry basis (37.44±1DS). Microbiological analysisshows that the flakes are fit for human consumption. It is concluded that yacon flakescontain significant amounts of inulin, being a good substitute alternative for thepreparation of snack-type dietetic products.