Fruit leather production from aronia fruit and determination of some quality characteristics

This study was conducted to determine the physical, chemical, and textural properties of fruit leather products enriched with chia seeds, flaxseeds, and dried mulberries using the juice of aronia (Aronia melanocarpa). A total of six different aronia fruit leather formulations were produced using 7,5% starch, 7,5% chia seeds, 7,5% flaxseeds, and 15% dried mulberries. The physical (color, texture profile, thickness), chemical (moisture, ash, fat, dietary fiber, sugar, ascorbic acid, pH, water activity, titratable acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, anthocyanin content) and sensory properties of the samples were examined. The moisture contents of the enriched fruit leather samples ranged between 15,62– 17,69%, ash contents between %2,46–3,40, fat contents between %0,90–21,14, dietary fiber contents between %1,93–22,81, and sugar contents between %67,61–91,48. Compared to the control, ash contents increased by 15,85–38,21% and dietary fiber contents by 81,35–901,55% in the enriched samples. Total phenolic content of the aronia fruit leathers ranged between 17,64–29,64 mg GAE/g, DPPH values between 30,04–38,82 µmol TE/g, and total monomeric anthocyanin contents between 67,03–185,86 mg/100 g. Texture profile analysis revealed that enrichment with seeds and dried mulberries increased hardness while decreasing elasticity and cohesiveness. Aronia fruit leather enriched with dried mulberry achieved significantly higher scores across all sensory attributes compared to the control and other enriched pestil samples, and was identified as the most preferred pestil variety In conclusion, the incorporation of aronia, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and dried mulberries significantly enhances the nutritional composition and functional properties of fruit leather products. Accordingly, these findings suggest that traditional fruit leathers may be considered within the scope of functional foods and aronia hold promise for developing new products that align with consumer preferences. Therefore, future studies focusing on the bioaccessibility of these compounds may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the nutritional characteristics of such products. Keywords: Fruit Letter, Chokeberry,Chia Seed, Flax Seed, Dried Mullberry, Drying