POTENTIAL OF QUINOA FOR PRODUCTION OF NEW NON-DAIRY BEVERAGES WITH REDUCED GLYCEMIC INDEX

Recently, there has been a growing effort to include underutilised crops to food products. The potential of pseudocereal quinoa for the production of non-dairy plant-based beverages was investigated. Developed products were analyzed for nutritional composition, sugars, glycemic index, technological parameters, and sensory acceptance in comparison with a commercial quinoa beverage. Quinoa beverages contained 0.60-0.63 g per 100 mL proteins, had a medium glycemic index and their energy values ranged from 113.14 to 120.79 kJ per 100 mL of beverage. For improvement sensory acceptance of beverages, these were sweetened with natural sweeteners with a low glycemic index (inulin or agave syrup). It was found that the final products had similar consistency as commercial quinoa drink, but showed a lower overall acceptance. Moreover, it was determined that the acceptance of beverages sweetened with agave syrup was higher than those sweetened with inulin. Due to the absence of gluten in quinoa and medium glycemic index of final products, the developed beverages can represent a new alternative for consumers with special nutritional needs. The addition of suitable ingredients may be recommended to improve their acceptance.