ACEITABILIDADE DE PREPARAÇÕES CULINÁRIAS COM UMBU (Spondias tuberosa ARR.) E CAJÁ (Spondias mombin L.) EM UMA UNIDADE DE ALIMENTAÇÃO E NUTRIÇÃO ESCOLAR DO MUNICÍPIO DE NATAL-RN-BRASIL

Abstract

Brazil has a great biodiversity of fruits that can be used in school meals. We aimed to develop culinary preparations with umbu and cajá, fruits of the socio-biodiversity of northeastern Brazil, and evaluate their acceptability with students from a public school. The study was cross-sectional, descriptive, and experimental, in which we standardized the recipes using technical preparation sheets: cajá cake and mixed umbu and cajá milkshake. The standardized sheets contained the nutritional value calculated through composition tables, preparation cost in reais, and environmental footprints (water and carbon. To assess acceptability, sensory analysis was carried out through an affective test with untrained tasters, using a hedonic scale facial (likert scale with scores from 1 to 5) and subsequently the acceptability index was calculated. The preparations presented a low energy value, carbohydrates and sodium in 100g, low cost (cake - R$ 0.95 and milkshake - R$ 0.24) and possible technical viability of preparation within school kitchens. Furthermore, the recipes had reduced environmental footprints, in other words, they are possibly preparations with a low environmental impact. The samples were evaluated by 118 untrained schoolchildren aged between 6 and 10 years. Acceptance for cajá cake and milkshake was 92% and 84%, respectively. In general, the preparations meet the macronutrient needs recommended by the public program. Furthermore, the consumption of preparations can contribute to the diversification of menus and promotion of local sustainable development.