The use of Moringa oleifera oil in the production of a functional dressing

Abstract

Dressing is the most popular and known cold sauce in most worldwide kitchen. It is used to season foods and make them taste nice. It is a sort of oil-water emulsion with a minimum oil content of 40%, the oil phase consists in a vegetable oil and the water phase has an acid nature. This research looks at determining certain physical, chemical and sensorial parameters of a functional dressing made with Moringa seed oil. The use of Moringa oil was evaluated at the rates of 25, 50, 75 and 100% with soybean oil. The analyzed parameters were: pH, Acidity index, Total free acidity, microbiological and sensorial analysis. During the production process of the dressing, it was observed that till the concentration of 75%, Moringa oil in the blends of Moringa and soybean oils, the emulsion was stable, with an adequate consistency. pH values of such blends were between 3,2 - 4,02. Acidity index were determined between 4,11 – 5,46 mg KOH/g and the total acidity figures between 4,44 - 0,58% w/w of acetic acid. The dressing, with a formulation of 35% Moringa oil recorded the highest acceptance in the categories of “I like it very much” with 66,25% and 31,25% for the category “I like it”, followed by the formulation of 75%, that for such categories, reached 36,25% and 6,25%, respectively. This research showed the potential of Moringa seed oil to be use as oil ingredient of natural origin in the production of dressing as functional food, with acceptance criteria in tasting and physico-chemical and microbiological parameters.