Enrichment of Pasteurized Dairy Product and Brownie With Edible Insect (Tenebrio molitor) to Analyze Acceptance Using...

Insect proteins, especially from Tenebrio molitor (TM), are emerging as sustainable alternatives to conventional proteins. This study aimed to design and evaluate TM-enriched food formulations for individuals with increased protein needs, assessing their nutritional, physicochemical, and sensory properties, and exploring feasibility. Two sensory evaluations were conducted using the Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) method. The first (CATA1) assessed the direct incorporation of TM powder (32 g/100 g) into a pasteurized dairy product (D) with hazelnut (DTM₁H), hazelnut-vanilla (DTM₁HV), or vanilla (DTM₁V) aroma. DTM₁HV reached 52.4% acceptability. The second (CATA2) evaluated brownies with three formulations: D and TM powder (BDTM₁), TM powder (BTM₁), and TM powder and TM protein hydrolysate (BTM₂). Hydrolysate-based formulation had a significantly higher protein-to-lipid ratio, offering a better nutritional profile than those with only TM powder. Physicochemical analysis showed BTM₂ improved cohesiveness and elasticity (p < 0.05), while higher TM powder (BTM₁) increased hardness and bitterness (p < 0.05). In BTM₂, bitterness suppressed sweetness and reduced liking (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed strong positive associations between crumb and crust color acceptability (r = 0.72-0.80), and between sponginess in hand and in mouth (r = 0.65-0.91). Sweetness also correlated positively with global aspect (r = 0.53-0.67). These findings support that hazelnut-vanilla aroma enhances dairy product acceptability, while TM protein hydrolysate contributes to improved nutritional and sensory profiles in high-protein formulations.