Wild blueberries.

Wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) are often used as ingredients in baked goods and ice cream. The wild blueberry industry would like to expand its industrial clients to include the soy dairy industry. Both wild blueberries and soyfoods possess a variety of antioxidants, and both appear to have health benefits for our cardiovascular and nervous systems. Researchers had found that a small group of consumers liked the concept of a frozen wild blueberry and soy dessert, but the formulations tested were not sweet enough. The investigators wanted to see if blueberry juice concentrate (BJC) would be more acceptable than puree in frozen desserts with a soy milk-tofu base. They also wanted to see if fat-free products would be as acceptable as those with 10% added fat; and to compare two levels (5% or 7.5%) of BJC. Four frozen dessert formulations were tested. BJC samples were darker and less blue. Anthocyanin levels were highest in a puree sample and in a fat-free product containing 7.5% BJC. Antioxidant activity was greatest (28 Trolox equivalents per gram) in the samples made with soybean oil and 7.5% BJC. The puree formulation received higher hedonic scores than did the BJC formulations. The puree formulation was assigned an overall acceptability score of "like very much" or "like extremely" by 45% of the consumers. Contact: Mary Ellen Camire, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Room 105, Orono, ME 04469. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].