Sensory profile and consumer acceptance of flavored soy milk beverage

Abstract:

A common complaint about soy milk—its beany off-flavour—has limited acceptance despite soy’s well-documented protein quality and isoflavone content. Flavouring is the simplest strategy to mask this off-note, yet systematic sensory profiling of flavoured soy milk variants under Indonesian consumer conditions remains scarce. This research prepared soy milk from locally grown soybeans (Anjasmoro) and flavoured it with vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cardamom at the Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, during July-October 2023. Each variant was evaluated for physicochemical properties, sensory profile (quantitative descriptive analysis by 10 trained panellists), and consumer acceptance (50 untrained panellists, 9-point hedonic scale). Chocolate-flavoured soy milk scored highest in overall acceptability (7.9/9), followed closely by strawberry (7.7) and vanilla (7.5). Plain soy milk received only 5.8. Flavouring did not alter protein content (3.3-3.6%) or significantly affect pH during 15 days of refrigerated storage. The chocolate and strawberry variants offer a practical path to broader consumer acceptance of soy milk in the Indonesian market.