Physicochemical and sensory evaluation of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) restructured products produced in the Sinu Valley, Colombia

The purpose of the food industry is to ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food ingredients for human consumption. Sweet potato is a crop with excellent industrialization possibilities for human food due to its important nutrient content. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an alginate-calcium sulfate-tripolyphosphate (PPTS) gelling system on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of restructured sweet potato products. Fifteen formulations with varied concentrations of alginate, calcium sulfate, and PPTS were elaborated and subjected to a ordered-preference test. The physicochemical composition and color parameters of the preferred samples were determined, and the consumer acceptance, intention to purchase, and acceptability index (AI) were assessed. The preferred formulations (p ≤ 0.05) were F1, F6, F10, F11, and F14, and the gel formation was efficient at retaining water and preventing the restructured products from absorbing fat during frying. The restructured products with the highest water retention and lowest fat absorption were F11 (46.75%), F10 (44.53%), and F14 (43.29%). In the acceptance test, no differences (p ≥ 0.05) were found in the attributes softness, crunchiness, and sweet potato flavor. Formulations F6 and F14 obtained the highest acceptability index (AI), equal to or higher than 70%, indicating that they could represent viable alternatives for the industrial transformation of sweet potato for its possible commercialization.