MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF SORGHUM ICE-CREAM CONE TEXTURE CHARACTERISTICS USING THE CONE FORMULATION

The study of the interaction between product formulation, operation conditions and product characteristics is essential in unlocking and predicting texture behavior of cones after baking. In this research three predictive black box models were developed and used to predict the texture. Models relating mechanical hardness, crispness and overall acceptability to the type of formulation were developed for three different forms of expressing the recipe; mass of ingredients, ingredient percentage of total weight, and ingredient ratio to sorghum flour. Results showed highest accuracy for the model using the formulation according to the mass of ingredients. Correlation analysis yielded values of R2 = 0.968, 0.851 and 0.919 respectively for the models of mechanical hardness, crispness and overall acceptability according to mass of ingredients, showing that 96.8, 85.1 and 91.9% of the variation in texture measured as mechanical hardness, crispness and overall acceptability is accounted for by the three models respectively. This classifies them as good prediction models which can be used to explore production alternatives of the formulation for purposes of guaranteeing consumer acceptability.