Standardization of Pasteurized Sugarcane Juice

This study targeted the standardization of sugarcane juice based on the identification of the ratio (soluble solids/titratable acidity) of greater sensory acceptance. For this purpose a rotational central composite design with eleven treatments was used. The formulations (treatments), prepared with pasteurized sugarcane juice, were submitted to nine-point hedonic scale tests to assess the overall impression, at a temperature of about 12 °C, by a team of 52 panelists. The independent variables were the total soluble solids (SS), in the range between 13.1 and 25.9 °Brix, and titratable acidity (TA), between 0.02 and 0.09 g citric acid /100 mL of juice. The dependent variable was the average scores assigned to the overall impression for each of the eleven formulations. The average scores of the hedonic scale tests ranged from 6 (“like slightly”) to 7 (“like moderately”). The Tukey test showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) among the means of the formulations. Applying the model of hierarchical classification for statistical analysis, the effects of TA and SS content within TA were tested. It was found that only TA effect was significant (p < 0.05) for juice´s acceptance. The statistical comparison among the levels of TA revealed that only 0.055% level was significantly different from the others. The 19.5 ?Brix and TA 0.09% formulation was considered the best one, with a pH near 3.9. It was concluded that all formulations of sugarcane juice were well accepted by the team of panelists in a wide range of SS and TA.