Assessment of the effects of collagen and inulin incorporation to soft jelly candy formulations

In this study, collagen and inulin were incorporated in soft candy formulations with different ratios. The candies were subjected to textural, chemical, sensory, and correlation analyses in order to evaluate the effects of single or combined use of inulin and collagen on the freshly produced and stored products. Single use of inulin caused decrease in springiness contrary to collagen. Addition of collagen hydrolysate to soft candy formulations increased the pH and softness of the final product directly proportional to the collagen rate. The addition of inulin and collagen (20%) resulted in noticeable lightning in the color of the candies. Combined use with collagen was found to be more effective in promoting the prebiotic activity compared to the use of inulin alone. For Bacillus clausii, the combination of 10% collagen + 50% inulin provided a significantly higher colony growth. While collagen did not negatively affect the taste of confectionery; at 20% ratio the candy was perceived softer and stickier to the teeth. The inclusion of collagen and inulin together in the formulation decreased the sensory scores and slightly lower relative frequency rate was obtained for the "I would definitely buy" category (2-12% less than that of the other candies). The study revealed that if collagen and inulin are included in the formulation together, the confectionery can provide a significant amount of collagen by strengthening the structure with the support of an extra polysaccharide addition, and at the same time, inulin will be beneficial in terms of calorie reduction.