Evaluation of Maillard Reaction intensity, Physical-chemistry Attributes and Texture Analysis in "Dulce de Leche"

ABSTRACT The Dulce de Leche, a product which is marketed and produced in Latin America, is much appreciated by consumers, with great importance for the Brazilian market. The standardization of the characteristics of this product as well as the suitability for recommendations of the Technical Identity and Quality Regulation becomes difficult due to the large cultural diversity and technological changes. In this context, the study of physical-chemical and rheological characteristics the Dulce de Leche becomes of great importance to achieve such uniformity, mainly by the lack of technical and scientific literature about this product. This work aimed to evaluate and relate the physical-chemical and texture attributes. Twelve Dulce de Leche brands were analyzed to moisture, water activity and texture analysis with statistical analysis of the data. Descriptive statistical analysis for texture attributes showed high variability between samples. As for the moisture content, 51.11% of the samples were outside the statutory standards. The analysis had results of free HMF and elevated totals. Through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) it was found that the main source of variation and contribution to group of the appraised brands is related to the elements that make up the rheological characteristics of the product. The results showed high correlation between water activity, moisture and rheological attributes. The combination of physical, chemical and rheological attributes were shown to be useful for characterization and evaluation of Dulce de Leche quality. These results expand scientific knowledge about Dulce de leche favoring the dairy industry and the scientific community.