Determination of the rheological and sensory properties of imitation salep drinks prepared with different formulations

Salep is a beverage made from the powdered root of orchids and one of our traditional flavours which has been consumed mostly in cold winter days for many centuries. The consumption of salep as a beverage is questioned in due to its high value as well as for environmental reasons. In this study, the aim was to determine the formulation of a product that is most similar to real salep with respect to rheological and sensory properties. The effect of using different additives on sensory properties was also investigated. The viscosity of the commercial instant salep drinks were measured at 20 sˉˡ shear rate and viscosity values from 286 to 2611 cP were observed. Three salep concentrations (1%, 2%, 3%) were used for control sample. Viscosity values among instant salep and real salep drink with different concentrations were compared and 2% salep concentration was determined as control sample. The response surface methodology was used to obtain the optimum formulation to prepare imitation salep drink and the measurement temperature. The optimum temperature for analysis, guar gum and corn starch concentration to be used in producing an imitation salep drink were determined to be 25 °C, 0.25 and 4% respectively. Viscosity of imitation salep drink was measured to be 930.14 cP under these conditions. In sensory analysis, traditional salep drink and imitation salep drink which was prepared with different formulations was compared. It is observed that, the least preferred sample is 2% traditional salep and it was scored lower than the other samples in terms of all quality criteria. It was determined that the most liked sample was that of the imitation salep prepared with added salep flavouring.