Optimization of Sugar Replacement with Date Syrup in Prebiotic Chocolate Milk Using Response Surface Methodology

Chocolate milk is one of the most commonly used non-fermentative dairy products, which, due to high level of sucrose, could lead to diabetes and tooth decay among children. Therefore, it is important to replace sucrose with other types of sweeteners, especially, natural ones. In this research, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the ingredients formulation of prebiotic chocolate milk, date syrup as sweetener (4-10%w/w), inulin as prebiotic texturizer (0-0.5%w/w) and carrageenan as thickening agent (0-0.04%w/w) in the formulation of chocolate milk. The fitted models to predict the variables of selected responses such as pH, viscosity, total solid, sedimentation and overall acceptability of chocolate milk showed a high coefficient of determination. The independent effect of carrageenan was the most effective parameter which led to pH and sedimentation decrease but increased viscosity. Moreover, in most treatments, date syrup and inulin variables had significant effects which had a mutual impact. Optimization of the variables, based on the responses surface 3D plots showed that the sample containing 0.48% (w/w) of inulin, 0.04% (w/w) of carrageenan, and 10% of date syrup was selected as the optimum condition.