Sensory Attributes of Three Edible Tropical Mushrooms and Their Use in Formulating Food Products for Children 2 -5 Years Old

Background : Mushrooms are important sources of proteins and vitamins, but have unique sensory properties in appearance, flavour and texture that can lead to polarized liking amongst consumers. Children between the ages of 2 to 5 years can be picky eaters and adding vegetables such as mushrooms into their diets can be a challenge. Objective : This study involved the development of mushroom-based food products acceptable to children within this age bracket through a stepwise approach. Materials and Methods : Sensory attributes of three tropical edible mushrooms, Pleurotus ostreatus (EMI), Pleurotus sajor-caju (PSCW) and Auricularia ssp. (ART), were characterized using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), using 30 descriptors. The QDA revealed that all three mushrooms differ distinctly from each other in appearance, mouthfeel and aftertaste. The aroma and flavour profiles of EM1 and PSCW mushrooms were comparable. From the QDA, EMI and PSCW were selected and used to formulate six mushroom-based food prototypes; three of which included cereals and the other three had orange–flesh yellow potato flour as main components. The 6 prototype foods were then assessed by three sets of focus groups of caregivers and mothers on the suitability of using the mushrooms in the preparation of foods for children of the target age. Two mushroom-based food products, one with cereal blends and the other with 30% orange flesh yellow potato flour were further subjected to consumer-liking tests involving 83 children 2-5 years old. and this final test established the mushrooms can be incorporated into children’s diet. Conclusion : The study established two of the mushrooms could be used as flavourant; EMI mushroom suitable for fish or savory-flavoured products whilst the PSCW mushroom was preferred for nutty-flavoured products and these two when used in mushroom-based foods were highly acceptable to children 2 to 5 year old.