Formulation of Apple Sauce Suitable for the Taste of Iranian Consumers

Iran is a major apple producing country. A number of industrial apple products can be made from apple. In some developed countries about 25% of apples are processed into apple sauce. Apple sauce hasn’t so far been produced by Iranian food industry, but if a formulation suitable for the taste of Iranian consumers is prepared, it can commercially succeed as a consumer product. At the first step of this study, six apple sauce formulations were made from Golden Delicious apples. Then the sensory properties of these apple sauces were evaluated by partially experienced panelists. The best formulation was chosen by a ranking test. Also, this selected apple sauce formulation was evaluated by ordinary consumers in some popular restaurants. The majority of these consumers accepted the taste and flavor of this apple sauce. The chemical, physical and microbial properties of the apple sauce formulations were determined and compared. In the final step, samples of the chosen apple sauce were stored at 4oC±1 or 25oC±2 for 10 months and their chemical, physical and microbial properties were determined bimonthly. The results indicated that the selected apple sauce could be stored at ambient temperature for over 10 months, without undesirable quality changes.