Consumers’ acceptance of optimized gluten-free sorghum-based cakes and their drivers of liking and disliking

Sensory analysis is indispensable in order to promote the project of developing sorghum-based products and, therefore, work on sensory profiles of these products and consumer acceptance is needed to help them succeed. Thus, this study investigated the acceptance of 5 optimized gluten-free sorghum-based and a Reference (with gluten) cakes (prepared from cake premixes), considering their drivers of liking and disliking and their purchase intention. Chocolate and orange flavored gluten-free cakes were prepared based on the numerical optimizations of the formulations (technological, nutritional, functional, technological and nutritional, and technological and functional optimizations). Three sensory evaluation techniques were applied to cakes: acceptance testing, purchase intention and Check-all-that-apply. There was an improvement in the sensory properties of the gluten-free samples in which the nutritional or functional characteristics were optimized together with the technological characteristics, resulting in higher acceptances. It was confirmed that sensory studies are indispensable to confront the challenge of developing sorghum-based foods with sensory characteristics desired by consumers. Therefore, it is concluded that it was possible to offer a gluten-free cake premix that presents good sensory quality, having the potential to be offered as a novelty by the food industry, given that most consumers stated that they did not know sorghum. [Display omitted] •Pregelatinized whole-grain sorghum did not present the sandy attribute.•Nutritional characteristics must be optimized with the technological ones.•Functional characteristics must be optimized with the technological ones.•This cake premix has the potential to be offered as a novelty by the food industry.