International Journal of Food Research
ISSN: 2056-9734
Vol. 6(4), pp. 16-22, January 2020
doi.org/10.33500/ijfr.2020.07.002

Sensorial profile of spray dried Cymbopogon citratus powder in diversified culinary applications

Mario A. De Castro Jr.* and Mat-F. T.

MIMAROPA Food Innovation Center, Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology, Calapan City Campus, Masipit, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mariodecastro787@gmail.com.

Received 02 February, 2019; Received in revised form 10 March, 2019; Accepted 14 March, 2019.

Keywords:
Spray drying, Citral levels, Culinary, Maltodextrin, Process schedule, Optimization.

Herbs and spices are among the most versatile ingredients in culinary activities, and alongside their sustained popularity as flavorants and colorants, they are increasingly being used for their natural preservative and potential health-promoting properties. The Philippine “Tanglad” or lemongrass, as native herb has an abundant pharmacological uses and commonly utilized in Asian cookery because of its lemon flavor which is similar to lemon zest due to the same high citral levels. Lemongrass is used fresh or dried traditionally to flavor curries, stir-fries, pickles, soups, stews and salads. The study investigated the sensorial profile of spray dried (SD) lemongrass extract in diversified culinary applications specifically in stewed, baked and grilled products. A single process schedule design was applied in the fresh decocted lemongrass in terms of the inlet and outlet temperature and pressure setting. Two formulations of added carrier agent ranging from 15 to 20% were established. The sensory characteristics of the SD lemongrass extract in two formulations were analyzed and compared with the use of organoleptic evaluation score card utilized by food experts in the academe and industry. Data gathered were described and analyzed using the analysis of variance. Results indicated that there is a significant difference in terms of the quality attributes in SD lemongrass extract among the three culinary applications. Sensory evaluation results showed that the aroma and taste profile and the overall acceptability scores in F2 was extremely like by the respondents for the moist heat cooking application (stew). The study revealed that with the application of formulation 2 in SD lemongrass powder production was found to be much accepted in order to retain appreciable sensory attributes in various culinary applications.

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