INFLUENCE OF FUNCTIONAL ADDITIVES ON THE QUALITY OF HARD CANDY

Abstract

A hard candy recipe was created, which was made from xylitol sugar and aqueous extracts of medicinal herbs. The herbs used were: peppermint leaves, chamomile flowers and linden flowers. The hard candy recipe was also supplemented with lyophilized rosehip powder, which was used in different proportions of 0, 1, and 2 percentages in the recipe. When comparing different hard candies, we evaluated them as a whole: what amount of lyophilized rosehip additive and the used aqueous extract of medicinal herbs is the most useful functional additive for improving their quality? It was determined that the hard candies made with chamomile flower extract and with a 2 percent addition of rosehip powder had the highest acidity (7.4°N). The highest total phenolic content was found in hard candy with chamomile flower and peppermint leaf extracts with 2 percent rosehip powder, 2,30 and 2,35 mg GRE 100g^-1. The highest vitamin C content was found in linden flower hard candy with 2 percent rosehip powder, 72.1 mg 100g^-1. In the texture assessment, chamomile flower lollipops with 2 percent rosehip powder had the highest firmness. The results show that the best combination of functional additives was hard candy with chamomile flower extract and 2 percent rosehip powder.