The yacon, tuber vegetable crop of Andean origin, is increasingly being used in food technology because of its functional properties, as a source of inulin and fructooligosaccharides, which are considered prebiotics. Samples of bread made out of yacon were analyzed. Sample P (Standard bread, without yacon flour), sample A (6% yacon flour and 3% fat) and sample B (11% yacon flour, without fat). Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) was carried out for sensory evaluation; 11 experienced tasters participated and defined 10 sensory attributes (smell, color, crumb porosity and uniformity, flavor, texture, humectancy, unctuousness, adhesiveness and overall quality). Bread physical analysis was also carried out by chromatic characterization. QDA results were analyzed by analysis of variance and Duncan's test of means, at 5% significance level. QDA results were graphically represented by multivariate principal component analysis (PCA). No difference was found between samples A and B for porosity, texture, flavor, and overall quality. Sample A showed the highest means for undesirable sensory attributes such as adherence, whereas sample B showed the highest mean for humectancy due to the highest content of yacon, which is a highly hygroscopic product. In PCA, the sum of the main components 1 and 2 was 97.59%, that is, the variability between the samples is almost totally explained by these two components. The results demonstrate the great potential for the development of new products using prebiotic food source such as the fructans from yacon.
Sensory analysis; prebiotics; principal component analysis; yacon