Development of gluten-free products suitable for consumption by celiac patients using various gluten-free flours and sensory analyses

Celiac disease is a type of autoimmune disorder where the body attacks its own tissues. Individuals with this disease have an immune system that reacts to a group of proteins found in cereal products, known as prolamins. Prolamins, such as gliadin in wheat, secalin in rye, and hordein in barley, trigger immune responses in individuals with celiac disease. Consumption of gluten triggers the disease and causes damage to the digestive system. The only known treatment for the disease is a gluten-free diet. Therefore, the development of gluten-free product formulations using different components to produce gluten-free products has played a significant role in the food industry and technology in recent years. The use of gluten-free products in bakery items such as bread, cake, and cookies often leads to various issues in taste, texture, and quality of the product. In this study, a total of 9 different gluten-free cakes were produced using 3 different gluten-free flours. Sensory analysis was first conducted on the obtained products by trained panelists, and the top 3 types of cakes receiving the highest scores were subjected to consumer taste tests. In sensory analyses conducted with consumers, rice flour cake received the highest scores in terms of color, aroma, texture, appearance, and taste. Significant differences were identified in color and aroma evaluations, with rice flour cake being found more appealing compared to others. While no significant difference was found in texture, it was concluded that rice and buckwheat flour cakes were superior to chickpea flour cake in appearance and taste evaluations. Overall, it is observed that using suitable types of flour for celiac patients, high-quality products with high likability scores can be produced.