Sensory Preference Modeling of Probiotic Shrikhand Employing Soft Computing

摘要

Shrikhand is a traditional fermented milk product of Indian origin that is made from fresh dahi (curd). Present investigation was carried out (1) to manufacture probiotic Shrikhand using mixed culture (1:1:1 ratio, mesophilic dahi culture NCDC-167: Bifidobacterium bifidum NCDC-255: Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC-14), and (2) to compare its sensory quality with available market samples employing a soft computing tool, fuzzy logic to avoid market failure. Trained panel of 16 judges performed sensory evaluation. Importance of quality attributes for Shrikhand samples in general was determined as (in decreasing order): flavor, color & appearance, body & texture and mouthfeel. Observed sensory quality of the developed probiotic and control (without probiotic) samples was better than market probiotic and control samples. Strong as well as weak attributes of each sample were also determined. For developed probiotic Shrikhand, the most vital quality attribute was flavor, body & texture, followed by color &appearance, and mouthfeel. Ranking of Shrikhand samples by fuzzy logic and 9-point hedonic scale was similar.