Appetizing muffins designed for nutritional needs of older adults

Introduction: Due to good living conditions, the population of older adults is growing. Increased age increases prevalence of diseases and thereby also the risk of disease related malnutrition (DRM) increases. Appetizing and nutritious food products are needed to counteract DRM. One possible way to enable increased nutritional intake for older people with poor appetite is to offer energy/protein rich snacks between meals. In Sweden, afternoon coffee is an appreciated part of the day. It has also been shown that different varieties of muffins are a popular choice to eat with the coffee among older adults. Developing muffins to suit older adults’ nutritional needs along with their sensory cravings may contribute to decreased DRM. The aim of this study was to investigate added nutritional content along with the sensorial effects of increased fat/protein content in muffins.

Methods: Design of four different muffins were developed and produced according to a processing scheme where fat and proteins were added. Sensory evaluation and nutritional calculations were performed. Further moisture content, water activity, weight loss and size of the muffins were measured.

Results: The fat and protein additions affected the sensory properties and nutritional value of the muffins:

Muffin type

Content (g/100g   muffin)

Sensory properties

fat

protein

Reference

27

4,9

soft, smooth

With added fat

42

3,8

flat, moist, fatty mouth

With added protein (whey)

23

12,4

feel hard, compact, pointy, low

flavors

With added fat and protein

37

10,2

a bit hard, compact, fatty mouth feel   effects of protein are dominant

Discussion: It can be concluded that muffins with added nutrients and sensorialy designed for older adults’ is promising.  However, further recipe/process development in order to increase appetizing sensory properties may be achieved.