Microsoft Word - 4_Hutu Dana_V1 06.09.docx DOI: https://doi.org/10.4316/fens.2024.013 152 Journal homepage: www.fia.usv.ro/fiajournal Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania Volume XXIII, Issue 3 - 2024, pag. 152 - 170 APPLE PUREE AS SUCROSE REPLACER IN INCREASING THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND DECREASING THE ENERGY VALUE OF THE PASTRY PRODUCTS * Dana HUȚU 1, Sonia AMARIEI 1 1 Faculty of Food Engineering , Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania *Corresponding author (dana.hutu@fia.usv.ro) Received 19th August 2024, accepted 5th September 2024 Abstract: In recent decades, people's interest in adopting a healthy lifestyle, characterized by low sugar consumption, has seen a significant increase. This change in attitude comes in response to the many scientific studies that highlight the negative impact of excessive sugar consumption on human health. Aspects such as the alarming increase in the rate of obesity, type II diabetes and other metabolic conditions have prompted more and more people to reevaluate and adjust the nutritional content of their diet. Substituting sugar (with apple puree, oligofructose, stevia, inulin) in pastry products is a healthy alternative, but this alternative can change the properties of the pastry products. Using the response surface methodology, in order to obtain optimal textural and physical properties of the muffins, the values of the following parameters have been established: the substitution of sugar in a percentage of 42.78-43.39%, baking temperature between 183.83 and 183.99 °C; baking time between 14.66 and 13.80 min. The sensory analysis of the muffins obtained under the mentioned conditions demonstrated that there are no significant differences regarding the acceptability between the muffins with sucrose and with apple puree used as replacer. Moreover, apple puree muffins have a high nutritional value and a lower energy value by replacing a significant percentage of sugar. Keywords: apple puree, muffins, sensory evaluation, sugar, physical properties, texture 1. Introduction The continued increase in obesity and type II diabetes is frequently associated with the consumption of high-sucrose products. That is why, lately, consumers have been more and more oriented towards foods with a low calorie content. Obtaining pastries and bakery products with low energy value is easy to achieve, but, the obtained products may present unsatisfactory/unacceptable organoleptic properties for consumers. Due to the multiple roles of sucrose in the process of obtaining pastry products (provides sweetness, controls moisture retention, influences air incorporation, and improves texture), the substitution of sugar represents a challenge for manufacturers in the food industry [1]. That is why it is important to find substitutes for sugar, which maintain the same quality of pastry and bakery products. Some examples could be: apple puree, date syrup, Nypa fruticans syrup, inulin, grape syrup, Stevia, oligofructose, and apple pomace [1–15]. Muffins, along with sponge cake, pound cake and croissant, are pastry products highly appreciated by consumers due to their special sensory properties: appearance, smell, taste, texture, color. The disadvantage of these products is represented by the high energy value given by the high sucrose content [16]. Due to the high glycemic index of these products (given by sucrose), diabetics are warned against consuming muffins. Therefore, replacing sucrose with substitutes whose caloric content is lower than of sucrose is a healthy alternative that Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 153 comes to the aid of diabetics and those interested in adopting a healthy lifestyle. This change in attitude comes in response to the many scientific studies that highlight the negative impact of excessive sugar consumption on human health [17]. Apple puree is an ingenious substitute in pastry products, bringing extra flavor and texture [15]. Apple puree is a healthy alternative to refined sugar, adding sweetness and moisture to baked goods without compromising taste. This substitute not only enriches the flavor, but also contributes to increasing the nutritional value of the products, providing bioactive compounds, fibers, essential vitamins and minerals [14]. Due to its high content of soluble fibers, such as pectin, apple puree does not only improve the taste, but it also brings significant nutritional benefits [18,19]. An important aspect in using apple puree as a substitute in baked goods is its ability to influence texture and physical properties. Pectin, a component of apple puree, acts as a thickening agent and stabilizer of the products' structure, giving them a softer and more uniform consistency [19–21]. This aspect is supported by the interactions between pectin and other dough ingredients, demonstrating the ability of apple puree to improve the quality of pastry products. This manuscript focuses on the effect of replacing sugar in muffins with apple puree in different percentages. Thus, in this study, physical and textural properties, color parameters, and sensory characteristics of muffins obtained by replacing sugar with apple puree, were investigated. The objective was to evaluate the effect of three independent variables: percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree, baking time and temperature, using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) program. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Materials Cooked apple puree was obtained according to the method described by Huțu and Amariei [25].Seventeen muffin batters with different contents of apple puree were prepared according to samples generated by Design Expert v11 (trial version, Stat-Ease, Minneapolis, Minnesota, MN, USA). Wheat flour, white sugar, baking powder, iodized table salt, milk, sunflower oil, and fresh eggs were purchased from a local supermarket. 2.2. Muffins batter preparation The eggs and sugar/apple puree were stirred for 240 s at maximum speed then the milk and oil were added in KitchenAid - Professional Mixer (KPM5, KitchenAid, St. Joseph, MI). The obtained mixture was stirred for 60 s at minimum speed, then the solid ingredients were added. Next, the mixture was stirred for 60 s at minimum speed and then stored at refrigeration temperature for 1 h. 2.3. Texture profile analysis (TPA) Texture profile analysis was performed using a Perten TVT-6700 texturometer (Perten Instruments, Stockholm, Sweden) by compressing the sample using a 25 mm diameter stainless steel cylindrical probe. The trigger force was selected with the mass of 5 g and the test speed was 1 mm/s with a deformation of 25% of the initial height and an interval of 5 s between compression cycles. TPA from which the three textural parameters were obtained: hardness, chewiness, and cohesiveness [25]. All measurements were performed in triplicate. 2.4. Muffin height The height of the muffins was determined at room temperature using a digital caliper l caliper (Mitutoyo Deutschland GmbH, Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 154 Neuss, Germany) [16,27]. The measurement was taken from the highest point to the bottom of the muffin [27]. All measurements were performed in triplicate. 2.5. Volume of muffins The volume of the muffins was determined at room temperature by the rapeseed displacement according to the AACC (2000) method 10-05 [28–31]. All measurements were performed in triplicate. 2.6. Weight loos during baking Baking loss (WL) was determined according to the method described by Simona Grasso et al. [23]; the mass of the dough (Wb) was determined for each sample and the mass of the muffins (Wm) obtained after baking using the analytical balance Partner AS 220.RS (Radwag, Torunska, Poland), and the calculation formula used was Equation 1 [16,22,23,31,32]. All measurements were performed in triplicate. WL(100%) = ((W_b − W_m )) ⁄ W_b × 100 (1) 2.7. Sensory analysis A number of 17 samples suggested as representative by the Experiment Programming were analyzed from a sensorial point of view. The analyzed characteristics were: appearance, smell, taste, color, texture, and acceptability. A nine-point hedonic scale was used for the sensory analysis (9 = I like it extremely much; 8 = I like it very much; 7 = I like it moderately; 6 = I like it slightly; 5 = I neither like it nor dislike; 4 = I like it moderately; 2 = I dislike it a lot; 1 = I dislike it very much) [33–35]. The sensory analysis was carried out by 60 panelists. 2.8. Experimental design The effect of the independent variables (apple puree percentage (APP), baking time (t), baking temperature (T)) on hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness, muffin height, volume, and baking loss, were monitored using the Box-Behnken Response Surface Experimental Design. The establishment of experimental matrices was performed using Design Expert v11 (trial version, Stat-Ease, Minneapolis, Minnesota, MN, USA), and the Response Surface Methodology (RMS) was used for modeling. In order to study the effects of the 3 independent variables on the muffins, the central compositional experiment was used, taking into account three factors: the percentage of apple puree, varied from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100%; the baking time, varied from a minimum of 13 to a maximum of 15 min and the baking temperature from a minimum of 180 to a maximum of 220 °C [22–24]. The coded levels of the design variables are shown in Table 1, and the coded values and the actual values of the factors used in programming the experiment regarding the influence of the percentage of apple puree, of baking time and baking temperature on the textural and physical properties of the muffins are shown in Table 2. Following the establishment of the experimental matrix, the Box-Behnken experimental model, which presents 3 factors and 3 levels, included 17 experiments, out of which 5 were in the central point. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Texture profile analysis (TPA) The quadratic (second-order) polynomial model was used to represent the evolution of muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness. The model was chosen based on low p-value (p < 0.05), favorable Lack of Fit (non-significant) and higher coefficient of determination (R2). Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 155 Table 1. Levels of the independent variables in the Box-Behnken experimental model regarding the influence of the percentage of apple puree, of baking time and baking temperature on the muffin properties Variable -1 0 1 Apple puree percentage (%) 0 50 100 Baking time (min) 13 14 15 Baking temperature (°C) 180 200 220 Table 2. The coded values and the actual values of the factors used in programming the experiment regarding the influence of the percentage of apple puree, baking time and baking temperature on the properties of the muffins Run Coded values Actual values APP t T APP (%) t (min) T (°C) 1 -1 -1 0 0 13 200 2 1 -1 0 100 13 200 3 -1 1 0 0 15 200 4 1 1 0 100 15 200 5 -1 0 -1 0 14 180 6 1 0 -1 100 14 180 7 -1 0 1 0 14 220 8 1 0 1 100 14 220 9 0 -1 -1 50 13 180 10 0 1 -1 50 15 180 11 0 -1 1 50 13 220 12 0 1 1 50 15 220 13 0 0 0 50 14 200 14 0 0 0 50 14 200 15 0 0 0 50 14 200 16 0 0 0 50 14 200 17 0 0 0 50 14 200 APP – apple puree percent, t – baking time, T – baking temperature. The quadratic model was determined to be statistically significant by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Box-Behnken model with experimental and predicted values for muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness are presented in Table 3, and the results of the analysis of variance (Table 4) demonstrate that the chosen model explains and predicts most of the variation in hardness (R2 = 0.992), chewiness (R2 = 0.897), and cohesiveness (R2 = 0.973). Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 156 Equations 2, 3, 4 describe the effects of apple puree percentage (APP), baking time (t) and baking temperature (T) on muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness. Table 3. Box-Behnken model with experimental and predicted values for muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness Run Independent Variables Measured Response Predicted Response APP (%) t (min) T (°C) Hardness (N) Chewiness (N) Cohesiveness (nd) Hardness (N) Chewiness (N) Cohesiveness (nd) 1 0 13 200 9.99 5.96 0.61 9.99 6.06 0.62 2 100 13 200 8.31 6.71 0.75 8.28 6.55 0.75 3 0 15 200 9.15 5.35 0.64 9.16 5.51 0.63 4 100 15 200 9.22 6.98 0.74 8.99 6.89 0.73 5 0 14 180 9.27 5.55 0.61 9.25 5.40 0.61 6 100 14 180 8.88 5.31 0.81 8.87 5.39 0.82 7 0 14 220 9.51 5.31 0.69 9.50 5.24 0.68 8 100 14 220 7.98 6.95 0.71 7.99 7.11 0.70 9 50 13 180 9.35 6.75 0.68 9.63 6.83 0.67 10 50 15 180 9.41 6.24 0.68 9.41 6.25 0.68 11 50 13 220 9.17 7.15 0.66 9.16 7.14 0.66 12 50 15 220 9.02 7.57 0.64 8.98 7.50 0.65 13 50 14 200 9.15 6.03 0.64 9.17 5.86 0.64 14 50 14 200 9.21 5.33 0.63 9.17 5.86 0.64 15 50 14 200 9.18 5.46 0.65 9.17 5.86 0.64 16 50 14 200 9.22 6.29 0.63 9.17 5.86 0.64 17 50 14 200 9.13 6.18 0.66 9.17 5.86 0.64 APP – apple puree percent, t – baking time, T – baking temperature. Hardness (N) = 917.4 − 46.875 × APP − 3.125 × t − 15.75 × T + 38.5 × APP × t − 28.25 × APP × T − 5.75 × t × T − 19.45 × APP + 13.05 × t − 7.2 × T (2) Chewiness (N) = 586.19 + 46.8409 × APP − 5.29125 × t + 39.0881 × T + 22.2567 × APP × t + 47.0015 × APP × T + 23.3992 × t × T − 37.7725 × APP + 76.8218 × t + 30.0831 × T (3) Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 157 Cohesiveness = 0.6468 + 0.0575 × APP − 0.001875 × t − 0.011375 × T − 0.00875 × APP × t − 0.04475 × APP × T − 0.00456 × t × T + 0.04085 × APP + 0.0016 × t + 0.0201 × T (4) Table 4. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the polynomial model in terms of muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness Hardness (N) Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F-value p-value Model 3.11 9 0.3450 109.25 <0.0001 APP 1.56 1 1.56 493.25 <0.0001 t 0.0000 1 0.0000 0.0158 0.9034 T 0.1891 1 0.1891 59.89 0.0001 APP × t 0.7656 1 0.7656 242.45 <0.0001 APP × T 0.3249 1 0.3249 102.89 <0.0001 t × T 0.0110 1 0.0110 3.49 0.1039 APP2 0.1203 1 0.1203 38.08 0.0005 t2 0.1058 1 0.1058 33.50 0.0007 T² 0.0413 1 0.0413 13.07 0.0086 R2 0.992 Chewiness (N) Model 7.74 9 0.8600 6.70 <0.0001 APP 1.79 1 1.79 13.91 0.0074 t 0.0231 1 0.0231 0.1801 0.6841 T 1.22 1 1.22 9.54 0.0176 APP × t 0.1936 1 0.1936 1.51 0.2591 APP × T 0.8836 1 0.8836 6.88 0.0342 t × T 0.2162 1 0.2162 1.68 0.2355 APP2 0.6008 1 0.6008 4.68 0.0673 t2 2.49 1 2.49 19.44 0.0031 T² 0.3783 1 0.3783 2.95 0.1297 R2 0.897 Cohesiveness (nd) Model 0.0451 9 0.0050 29.05 <0.0001 APP 0.0265 1 0.0265 153.20 <0.0001 t 0.0000 1 0.0000 0.1629 0.6985 T 0.0010 1 0.0010 6.00 0.0442 APP × t 0.0003 1 0.0003 1.77 0.2246 APP × T 0.0080 1 0.0080 46.40 0.0003 t × T 0.0001 1 0.0001 0.4692 0.5154 APP2 0.0070 1 0.0070 40.70 0.0004 t2 0.0000 1 0.0000 0.0624 0.8099 T² 0.0017 1 0.0017 9.85 0.0164 R2 0.973 APP – apple puree percentage, t – baking time, T – baking temperature. Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 158 The coded factor Equations (2, 3, and 4) can be used to make predictions about muffin hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness studied for the levels of each factor. Analyzing the Equations 2, 3, and 4 corresponding to the model for each factor, a ranking of the significant factors is observed in the order of the importance of the impacts on the hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness of the muffins. The greatest positive effect on hardness (equation 2) is the interaction of the linear terms APP × t, followed by the quadratic term t2 (substituted sugar), and responsible for the greatest negative effect on hardness is the linear term APP, followed by the interaction of the linear terms APP × T, followed by the quadratic term APP2 > the linear term T > the quadratic term T2 > the interaction of the terms t × T. Regarding chewiness (equation 3), the quadratic term t2 has the greatest positive effect, followed by the interaction of the linear terms APP × T > linear term APP > T > quadratic term T2 > interaction of linear terms t × T > interaction of linear terms APP × t, and the interaction quadratic term APP2 has the greatest negative effect, followed by linear term t. In the case of cohesiveness (Equation 4), the positive effect with the greatest impact is represented by the linear term APP, followed by the quadratic terms APP2 > T2. On the other hand, the negative effect with the greatest impact is the interaction of the linear APP × T terms. Considering the results obtained, the hardness of the muffins was between a minimum of 7.98 N (in the case of the sample with 100% apple puree obtained by baking at 200 °C for 14 min) and a maximum of 9.99 N (for the sample with 0 puree of apples obtained by baking at 200 °C for 15 min), similar results were also obtained by Belorio et al. and Rodríguez- García et al. [31,36]. However, as the percentage of sugar substitution with apple puree increased, the hardness decreased significantly (p < 0.05), a phenomenon also observed by other authors. For example, Martínez-Cervera et al. [37] obtained similar results when they substituted sugar with a sucralose/polydextrose mixture in muffins [38]. Ronda et al. [38] reported similar results using polyols and oligosaccharides in sponge cake and Vatankhah [39] obtained a decrease in biscuit hardness by replacing sugar with stevioside [38,39]. In addition, Zahn et al. [40] observed a decrease in hardness when rebaundioside A was used in combination with more fibers in muffins. Chewiness is defined as the force required a food for swallowing and directly influences the sensory perception of consumers, potentially determining the degree of acceptability and preference for certain foods. The decrease in chewiness with the increase in baking temperature could be due to the change in the structure of the starch granules [42]. In addition, the chewiness of the muffins increased with the increase in the percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree. Similar results were reported by Martínez-Cervera et al. [37], in obtaining an increase in the chewiness of the muffins by increasing the percentage of sugar substituted with erythritol [16]. Following the cohesiveness analysis, a significant influence (p < 0.01) of the factors and their interactions was observed (Table 3). Thus, the cohesiveness increased with the increase in the percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree, similar results were reported by Majzoobi et al. [28] by substitution with rebaudioside A. Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 159 The response surfaces in Figure 1 illustrate the influence of puree percentage, baking time, and baking temperature on muffin hardness, chewiness, and cohesiveness. From the graphs in Figure 1 d, h, l a strong correlation can be observed between the predicted and the actual values of the hardness, chewiness and cohesiveness of the muffins. 3.2. Height, volume, weight loos during baking The 2FI model was used to represent the evolution of the height of the muffins, and the linear model was used to represent the evolution of the volume of the muffins and the baking loss of the muffins; models being chosen based on low p-value (p < 0.05), favorable Lack of Fit (non-significant) and higher coefficient of determination (R2). The Box-Behnken model with experimental and predicted values for muffin height, volume and baking loss are shown in Table 5. a) b) c) d) Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 160 e) f) g) h) i) j) Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 161 k) l) Fig. 1. Response surface plot of the influence of apple puree percentage, baking time, and baking temperature on muffin hardness (a-c), chewiness (e-g), and cohesiveness (i-k); predicted values vs. the actual values for hardness (d), chewiness (h), and cohesiviness (l) Table 5. Box-Behnken model with experimental and predicted values for muffin height, volume and weight loss baking APP – apple puree percent, T – baking temperature, t – baking time, H – height, V – volume, WL – weight los Run Independent Variables Measured Response Predicted Response APP (%) t (min) T (°C) H (mm) V (cm³) WL (%) H (mm) V (cm³) WL (%) 1 0 14 180 46.17 55.00 11.28 46.06 55.68 9.60 2 100 14 180 40.82 41.00 14.28 41.59 41.93 11.97 3 0 14 220 51.58 60.00 9.20 51.09 58.43 9.62 4 100 14 220 42.64 44.00 11.60 43.03 44.68 11.99 5 0 13 200 45.44 56.00 11.40 45.99 56.80 11.32 6 100 13 200 42.03 43.00 13.48 41.70 43.05 13.69 7 0 15 200 50.83 56.00 7.68 51.17 57.30 7.90 8 100 15 200 43.46 44.00 9.68 42.92 43.55 10.27 9 50 13 180 41.72 50.00 11.54 41.46 48.55 12.49 10 50 13 220 46.09 54.00 13.00 46.22 51.30 12.51 11 50 15 180 46.24 53.00 7.50 46.19 49.05 9.07 12 50 15 220 47.56 52.00 10.88 47.90 51.80 9.06 13 50 14 200 45.73 48.00 9.94 45.44 50.18 10.79 14 50 14 200 45.77 52.00 9.54 45.44 50.18 10.79 15 50 14 200 44.90 48.00 12.88 45.44 50.18 10.79 16 50 14 200 46.04 47.00 9.78 45.44 50.18 10.79 17 50 14 200 45.52 50.00 9.88 45.44 50.18 10.79 Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 162 Equations 5, 6, and 7 describe the effects of puree percentage (APP), baking time (t), and baking temperature (T) on the height (H), volume (V), and baking weight loss (WL) of muffins. 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 (𝒎𝒎) = 45.4435 − 3.13375 × 𝐴𝑃𝑃 + 1.615 × 𝑇 + 1.60125 × 𝑡 − 0.8975 × 𝐴𝑃𝑃 × 𝑇 − 0.99 × 𝐴𝑃𝑃 × 𝑡 − 0.7625 × 𝑇 × 𝑡 (5) 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 (𝒄𝒎𝟑) = 50.1765 − 6.875 × 𝐴𝑃𝑃 + 1.375 × 𝑇 + 0.25 × 𝑡 (6) 𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 (%) = 10.7965 + 1.185 × 𝐴𝑃𝑃 + 0.01 × 𝑇 − 1.71 × 𝑡 (7) From the analysis of the equations, the strongest positive effect on the muffin’s height is represented by the linear terms T > t, and the negative effect with the strongest impact is the linear term APP, followed by the interaction of the linear terms APP × t > APP × T > T × t. Regarding the volume, the greatest positive effect on it is represented by the linear terms T > t, and the negative effect is represented by the linear term APP. In the case of ripening loss, the linear terms APP > T have the greatest positive effect on it, and the linear term t has a negative effect. 2FI and linear models were determined to be statistically significant by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the analysis of variance (Table 6) demonstrate that the chosen models explain and predict most of the variation in height (R2 = 0.978), volume (R2 = 0.878) and weight loss at ripening (R2 = 0.965). Muffin height decreased with increasing apple puree percentage and increased with baking time and temperature, while in the case of muffin volume, baking time and temperature did not cause significant changes (p < 0.01). Thus, the highest height for muffins (50.83 mm) was recorded for the sample obtained by baking at 200 °C for 15 min with 0 apple puree, and the lowest height value (40.82 mm) was recorded for the muffins obtained by baking at 180 °C for 14 min with 100% apple puree, resulting in a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in the height of the muffins with the increase in the percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree. Similar results were obtained by Rodríguez-García et al. [36] by substitution of sugar in cookies with oligofructose. By substituting sucrose in percentage of 50%, height values between 41.72 mm and 47.46 mm were obtained, similar results obtained by Gao et al. [42] by replacing sucrose with stevia in a percentage of 50%. Also, the volume of the muffins varied between 41 cm3 (for the sample obtained by substituting sugar with 100% apples puree by baking at 180 °C for 14 min) and 60 cm3 (for the sample with 0 apple puree obtained by baking at 220 °C for 14 min). In the case of 50% sucrose substitution with apple puree, the volume varied between 47 and 54 cm3. The volume of the muffins decreased significantly (p < 0.01) with the increase in the percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree, the results being similar to those reported by Struck et al. [43] who substituted sugar in muffins with apple fiber. Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 163 Table 6. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for polynomial model in muffin height, volume and baking loss Height (mm) Source Sum of Squares df Mean Square F-value p-value Model 129.41 6 21.57 75.56 <0.0001 APP 78.56 1 78.56 275.21 <0.0001 T 20.87 1 20.87 73.10 <0.0001 t 20.51 1 20.51 71.86 <0.0001 APP × T 3.22 1 3.22 11.29 0.0072 APP × t 3.92 1 3.92 13.73 0.0041 T × t 2.33 1 2.33 8.15 0.0171 R2 0.978 Volume (cm3) Model 393.75 3 131.25 31.18 <0.0001 APP 378.12 1 378.12 89.83 <0.0001 T 15.13 1 15.13 3.59 0.0805 t 0.5000 1 0.5000 0.1188 0.7359 R2 0.878 Weight loss (%) Model 34.63 3 11.54 6.18 0.0077 APP 11.23 1 11.23 6.02 0.0290 T 0.0008 1 0.0008 0.0004 0.9838 t 23.39 1 23.39 12.53 0.0036 R2 0.965 Increasing the baking time caused a small loss in the baked weight of the muffins, and baking time did not cause significant changes in the baked weight loss of the muffins (p < 0.01).The increase in baking weight loss with increasing percentage of sugar substituted with apple puree could be due to the higher water binding capacity of sugar than apple puree, similar results being reported by Rodríguez-García et al. [36] following the substitution of sugar in the cake with oligofructose. The response surfaces in Figure 2 illustrate the influence of puree percentage, baking time, and baking temperature on height, volume and baking loss of the muffins. From the graphs in Figure 2 d, f, h a strong correlation can be observed between the predicted and the actual. Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 164 a) b) c) d) e) f) Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 165 g) h) Fig. 2. Response surface plot of the influence of apple puree percentage (APP), baking time (t), and baking temperature (T) on muffin height (a-c), volume (e) and baking weight loss (g); predicted values vs. the actual values for height (d), volume (h) and baking weight loss (h) 3.3. Sensory analysis Regarding the sensory analysis and consumer acceptability of the functional muffins, Figure 3 shows the results of the six sensory parameters evaluated. For these parameters, there were no significant differences (p < 0.05) between muffins in which apple puree sugar was or was not substituted. Fig. 3. Spider web plot of six descriptive sensory attributes of muffins with or without addition of apple puree 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Appearance Color Taste Smell Texture Acceptability 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 166 Fig. 4. Ramp plots illustrating the optimal solution that best satisfies the given conditions. This solution was determined by the desirability function implemented in Design Expert version 11 software Optimization was performed to obtain muffins with textural, physical and sensory properties acceptable to consumers. A numerical optimization function was used to find the composition that simultaneously provides maximum desirability for the chosen attributes (Figure 4). Figure 5 shows the amplitude of the desirability function for the optimization of muffins and for each response studied. The desirability values on the graph in Figure 5 indicate how close a response is to its ideal value. For a desirability value of 1, the results reach the ideal value. The desirability of the optimization performed for the process (independent) and response variables, combined, has a satisfactory value of 0.977. Figure 5 shows the amplitude of the desirability function for the optimization of muffins and for each response studied. The desirability values on the graph in Figure 5 indicate how close a response is to its ideal value. For a desirability value of 1, the results reach the ideal value. The desirability of the optimization performed for the process (independent) and response variables, combined, has a satisfactory value of 0.977. Taking into account all the quality characteristics and following the optimization procedure of the Design Expert program in which the sugar inclusion levels were minimized, a muffin formulation was provided with the following technological parameters: sugar can be replaced in percentages between 42.78-43.39%, baking time between 14.66 and 13.80 min, and the baking temperature between 183.83 and 183.99 °C. Food and Environment Safety - Journal of Faculty of Food Engineering, Ştefan cel Mare University - Suceava Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024 Dana HUȚU and Sonia AMARIEI, Apple puree as sucrose replacer in increasing the nutritional value and decreasing the energy value of the pastry product, Food and Environment Safety, Volume XXIII, Issue 3 – 2024, pag. 152 -170 167 Fig. 5. The desirability function of optimization 4. Conclusions Optimization of obtaining functional muffins by the response surface method was successful. The use of apple puree allowed a 50% reduction in sucrose. Changing the percentage of sucrose substituted with apple puree in the functional muffins had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the firmness, chewiness, cohesion, height, volume and weight loss on baking of the final product. The percentage of apples, baking time and baking temperature of the muffins were optimized to achieve maximum textural values for firmness, chewiness and cohesiveness. Thus, optimal value for hardness of 9.34 N, chewiness 5.99 N and cohesiveness 0.65 resulted from replacing sugar with applesauce 42.78% and baking at 183.99 °C for 14.80 min. The muffins obtained under the mentioned technological conditions are qualitative in terms of texture, physical and sensory properties. 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