Increasing the storage capacity of chocolates by reducing the activity of water in ganache fillings

According to research by NielsenIQ, the confectionery group is the most rapidly growing one in the food market of our country. The water activity aw value in confectionery has a significant impact on the shelf life of cased sweets with ganache filling. The objective of the study was to develop a method for increasing the shelf life of chocolate ganache fillings by reducing water activity and optimally selecting hydrophilic recipe components while maintaining high organoleptic properties of cased sweets. The objects of the study were: control ganache without adding additional sugars; model samples of ganaches with hydrophilic agents, which included invert syrup, dextrose and sorbitol, taken in the ratio 1:1:1.5 (sample 1); 1:1.5:1 (sample 2); 1:1:1 (sample 3) with 12 % fruit puree replaced. During the studies, the water activity of sample 1 was reduced by 28 %, which allowed the candy to be stored for 60 days with a safety factor of 1.3. The sorbitol content in a ratio of 1.5 to dextrose and invert syrup provided the best microbiological stability, while in the control, which had a water activity of 0.97 %, the QMAFAnM indicators were already exceeded on the 20th day of storage. During organoleptic evaluation it was determined that different contents of invert syrup, dextrose and sorbitol formed different textures of ganache: the control sample had a denser consistency, traces of emulsion stratification, while the model samples retained a plastic, homogeneous filling, and sample 3 had the best flavor throughout the entire shelf life (4.45 points on the 60th day of storage compared to 4.27 and 4.35 points for the 2nd and 3rd samples, respectively). It is shown that the shelf life of ganache-containing candies for 60 days with preservation of organoleptic indicators can be achieved with a ratio of invert syrup, dextrose and sorbitol as 1:1:1.5.