Description

Abstract: Fruit-filled toaster pastries are popular breakfast foods, but no peanut butter-filled toaster pastries are presently available in U.S. markets. Consumed with milk and fruit, a peanut butter tart would provide a convenient, nutritious breakfast that would appeal to children and adults. Early in the development process, consumers (n=73) who regularly ate peanut butter were recruited to evaluate three types of peanut butter fillings for a baked tart. These were peanut butter alone, peanut butter sweetened with 20% honey, and 50% peanut butter layered with 50% grape jam. Untrained panelists (82% white, 75% females, 62% married, 61% with household income of <$40,000, 56% high school graduates, 45% employed full-time) evaluated their degree of liking for the sensory attributes of the products, using a 9-point hedonic scale (1=dislike extremely, 9=like extremely). Results showed no significant difference among the three types in appearance (ratings of 7.0 to 7.1=like moderately), color (ratings of 6.8 to 7.0), and aroma (ratings of 6.2 to 6.4=like slightly). The 50% peanut butter/50% jam-filled tart received significantly higher ratings for flavor (6.5), texture (6.7), and overall liking (6.6) than the other two types. Most participants (84%) had eaten breakfast tarts, and 79% indicated they would buy a breakfast tart made with peanut butter. Preferred flavors with peanut butter were grape jam (29%), honey (27%), strawberry jam (26%), or peanut butter alone (16%). About three-fourths preferred smooth rather than crunchy peanut butter; 52% preferred no frosting. Two-thirds preferred that peanut butter tarts be served warm rather than at room temperature. Results from this phase will be used to guide further development of this product. Involvement of the targeted consumer early in the development process will increase the product's probability of success and provide a new form for using peanut butter as an ingredient.