Development of a High Quality Chinese Water Chestnut Meal Replacement Powder Based on Fuzzy Mathematics and Response Surface Methodology

Abstract:

Commercially available meal replacement powders have drawbacks such as high sugar content, low nutritional value, poor taste, and unsatisfactory reconstitution performance. To address these issues, a formulation using Chinese water chestnut (CWC), which can disperse in boiling water without agglomeration, was developed as the primary raw material. Dried CWC granules with a strong characteristic flavor, konjac gum, cream, and whey protein were added. A fuzzy mathematics evaluation model, which allows for a more objective and accurate evaluation, together with a response surface optimization method, was employed to develop a high-quality CWC-based meal replacement powder. The experimental results showed that the optimal formulation, based on quality ratio, was 64.87% instant CWC powder, 7.16% dried CWC granules, 2.82% konjac gum, 1.66% plant creamer, and 23.49% whey protein. The resulting product achieved a total score of 95.87 points in the fuzzy mathematical sensory evaluation. Its main nutritional indicators and contents of vitamins, calcium, iron, and zinc are superior to the standard outlined in ‘T/CNSS 002-2019 Meal Replacement Foods.’ In addition, the resistant starch content was high, which is beneficial to human health, and it exhibited excellent rheological, pasting, and cold gel TPA textural properties, as well as good solubility, water-holding capacity, and swelling capacity, all of which characterized it as a high-quality meal replacement. These results provide a theoretical basis for the development and industrialized production of instant CWC-based meal replacements.