Nutritional and sensory quality of stirred soursop (Annona muricata L.) yoghurt

Soursops ( Annona muricata L.) are highly aromatic fruits with white juicy flesh and are native to tropical North and South America. The ripe fruits are highly perishable, as they become soft and easily bruised. The objectives of the study were to incorporate soursop nectar at 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% in stirred yoghurts and to analyse the products for chemical and sensory quality. A focus group evaluated the initial yoghurts for process modifications. Yoghurts were evaluated on sensory attributes of appearance and colour, body and texture, flavour and aroma, and overall quality. Yoghurts with 10% and 15% soursop nectar had the highest (P< 0.05) overall quality scores (12.60/20 and 12.75/20, respectively) but differed (P< 0.05) in flavour and aroma from plain yoghurt and 5% soursop yoghurt. Most panelists would consider purchase of 10% and 15% soursop yoghurts over 0% and 5% soursop yoghurts. These yoghurts provided high percentage daily values of zinc, phosphorus and calcium and a good level of protein.