Author(s): Mini Sheth, Harsha Hirdyani

Abstract:
Background: Functional foods arerngetting popularity in the world, due to tremendous health benefits conferred byrnspecific components of these foods. During the last few decades the interestrnand demand for both healthy food and value added beverages has increased andrnits demand is expected to rise in the future. rnObjective: The present study wasrndone to develop a buttermilk based fermented drink using barley andrnfructooligosaccharide (FOS) as functional ingredients. rnMaterialsrnand methods: Barley was cooked and fermented with buttermilk,rnfollowed by addition of FOS, flavors (rose, khus, chocolate and salt-jeera) andrncolors. Three successive trials were conducted to screen the panellists usingrnthreshold test. Sensory evaluation was done using composite score method, forrnthe four drinks in triplicates. An internal panel of 24 semi trained membersrnevaluated the products for color and appearance, mouthfeel, texture, taste,rnafter taste, and overall acceptability. rnResults: A significant differencernwas observed among drinks with different flavors. Salt-jeera flavor was likedrnmost by all the panel members followed by rose. No after taste or bad mouthfeelrnwas reported in any of the products. rnConclusion: Thus it can be concludedrnthat locally available functional ingredients can be used to develop functionalrnfoods in form of foods and beverages. Addition of FOS as a prebiotic can be addedrnto foods without affecting their sensory attributes. Development of such valuernadded products shall also fulfil the increasing demand of health foods by thernconsumers.