Fresh water availability is considered highly risky because it is a finite resource, and a deficiency in water leads to numerous economic and environmental issues. Agriculture is one of the main consumers of fresh water in practices such as irrigation and fertilization. In this context, the main objectives of this study were (i) to determine the descriptive sensory profiles of four almond types grown using different irrigation strategies and (ii) to study their acceptance in a cross-cultural study (Romania and Spain). Consumers’ willingness to pay for hydroSOS almonds was also evaluated. The four irrigation strategies evaluated were a control sample, two samples grown under regulated deficit irrigation strategies (RDI), and a sample grown under a sustained deficit irrigation strategy (SDI). The main conclusion was that neither descriptive nor affective sensory results showed significant differences among treatments. These findings should encourage farmers to reduce their water usage by demonstrating that sensory quality was not significantly affected by any of the studied treatments, compared to the control. Regarding willingness to pay, both Spanish and Romanian consumers were willing to pay a higher price for the hydroSOS almonds.

Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 was used to ferment quinoa flour, in order to evaluate its influence on the nutritional and rheological characteristics of both the sourdough and muffins. The quantification of carbohydrates and organic acids was carried out on a HPLC-RID system (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with with refractive index detector), meanwhile HPLC-UV-VIS (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV-VIS detector), AAS (Atomic absorption spectrophotometry), aluminum chloride colorimetric assay, Folin–Ciocalteu, and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH) methods were used to determine folic acid, minerals, flavonoids, total phenols, and radical scavenging activity, respectively. Two types of sourdough were used in this study: quinoa sourdough fermented with L. plantarum ATCC 8014 and quinoa sourdough spontaneous fermented. The first one influenced the chemical composition of muffins in terms of decreased content of carbohydrates, higher amounts of both organic acids and folic acid. Furthermore, higher amounts of flavonoids, total phenols and increased radical scavenging activity were recorded due to the use of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 strain. These results indicate the positive effect of quinoa flour fermentation with the above strain and supports the use of controlled fermentation with lactic acid bacteria for the manufacturing of gluten free baked products.

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Gluten free products available on the market have a low textural quality associated with high crumbly structure, low-flavor, aroma, poor mouthfeel, less appearance, in comparison with the conventional final baked products. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of rice sourdough fermented with Lactobacillus spicheri DSM 15429 strain on textural, volatile profile, and sensorial properties of gluten free muffins in order to obtain baked goods with improved quality characteristics. Lactobacillus spicheri is a novel strain isolated from industrial rice sourdough but unexploited for bakery products manufacturing. The results showed that Lactobacillus spicheri DSM 15429 was able to growth in the rice flour influencing the texture and the volatile profile of gluten free muffins as well as their sensory characteristics. Both, textural parameters and volatiles recorded significant differences comparing to muffins obtained with a spontaneously fermented rice sourdough. Hardness and cohesiveness decreased while springiness and resilience of gluten free muffins improved their values. The volatile profile of gluten free muffins was significantly improved by utilization of the rice sourdough fermented with Lactobacilus spicheri DSM 15429. 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal, acetophenone and limonene were the main volatile derivatives responsible for aroma and odor scores of sensory analysis.

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