Amber Jack, a food sciences graduate student in the LSU College of Agriculture, experimented with 20 different recipe formulations before she found a combination of ingredients that has produced a low-sugar, gluten-free muffin similar in taste to its gluten counterparts.
After conducting a blind taste test with three different muffins and 128 potential customers, the reviews have been so positive that Jack is now considering selling the recipe or selling the actual muffins at local markets.
Jack says she was overwhelmed by the results of the taste test, which showed that people liked the muffins and most preferring a version with a half sugar and half sugar substitute.
“This is good for consumers who want gluten-free and low-sugar options,” says Jack, who created the muffin recipe as her master’s project.
In recent years, the market for products that are free of gluten, a protein found in grains wheat, barley, rye and oats, has grown exponentially. In 2015, consumers spent more than $5 billion on gluten-free products, the LSU AgCenter notes.
LSU AgCenter food scientist Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, who is Jack’s advisor, says gluten gives breads, cakes and cookies their rise and texture.
“Gluten-free products are not so simple to make because without the wheat protein, you don’t get the texture that you want,” Prinyawiwatkul says.
Jacked worked on her product in the LSU School of Nutrition and Food Sciences’ new Sensory Analysis Center.
“I was amazed when I tasted the gluten-free, sugar-free banana muffin. I was so proud of Amber for producing that,” says Gaye Sandoz, coordinator of the Food Incubator. “There may be a company that wants the recipe for this product, so we can actually work with Amber to sell that.”
