Abstract:
A soft candy was developed using eight times concentrated blueberry juice with freeze-dried blueberry powder as main raw materials. The technological parameters were optimized by orthogonal tests, and the main factors of anthocyanin loss in raw materials during processing were determined. The optimal formula suggested the volume ratio between concentrated blueberry juice and freeze-dried blueberry powder was 8 ∶1, the mass ratio of carrageenan to agar was 5∶4 with additions of 30% granulated sugar, 3% glucose, and 0.15% citric acid. Using the optimal formular and a sugar-boiling temperature of 80 ℃, the products achieved sensory scores of 90 points with a total anthocyanins fudge retention rate of 82.05%. The soft candy processed by the optimal technology has high anthocyanin content, good taste with even color showing orange-red, and is sweet but not greasy with obvious fruit flavor. It was also found that geranium and petunia in concentrated blueberry juice and blueberry powder were very sensitive to processing environment at high temperature, which indicated the processing temperature was the most important factor affecting the anthocyanin loss rate of both ingredients.