Blueberry Jam: correlation of rheological parameters and water activity with sensorial attributes

The present research studied gelling agent and fruit variety effects on the correlation between the rheological properties and water activity with sensorial parameters of blueberry jam. Sensorial tests were performed and sensorial attributes evaluated were flavor, color, texture and appearance. Rheological parameters were evaluated using texturometer (Texture Analyser, TA- TX2) with 1.0 cm2 probe, and water activity using water activity meter equipment (Texto 65-PC). Regarding to sensory analysis, the results showed that there was greater preference in conventional jam with “Climax” fruit variety, for all attributes. The Pearson correlation values showed that water activity had positive correlation with color, except for “light” product elaborated with “Climax” variety; texture, flavor and appearance had negative correlation with water activity for “light” samples. About the correlation between the sensory attributes and rheological parameters, the negative value of the Pearson correlation indicate that the texture measures were not correlated with texture sensory attribute, for all samples.