Development and quality evaluation of carabeef spread incorporated with almond gum and foxtail millet

Abstract:

The present study was conducted to develop a nutritionally enriched carabeef spread incorporated with almond gum and foxtail millet and to evaluate its proximate composition and sensory attributes. Two formulations were prepared: T₁ (control, without foxtail millet) and T₂ (treatment with foxtail millet), with functional ingredients such as butter, almond gum and corn flour added to improve texture, stability and spreadability. The proximate composition analysis showed that moisture content slightly decreased from 67.13% in T₁ to 66.43% in T₂, while crude protein decreased from 19.50% to 17.64% due to the partial replacement of meat with foxtail millet. Crude fat content also reduced from 9.58% to 8.42% in the millet-incorporated treatment. However, the incorporation of foxtail millet significantly increased crude fibre (0.59% to 1.20%), ash (1.69% to 1.79%) and calcium content (0.07% to 0.14%), indicating improved nutritional value, while gross energy decreased from 2071 kcal/kg to 1927 kcal/kg. Sensory evaluation revealed that the millet-incorporated spread showed slightly higher scores for appearance (7.78), flavour (7.65), taste (7.83), adhesive ability (7.73), aftertaste (7.66) and overall acceptability (7.80), although spreadability was slightly lower due to increased viscosity caused by millet starch and fibre. The present results indicated that the incorporation of almond gum and foxtail millet enhanced the nutritional profile, particularly fibre and calcium content, without adversely affecting sensory quality, suggesting its potential use as a functional ingredient in the development of nutritionally enriched carabeef spreads.