Abstract

Introduction

Food 3D printers can design foods that would be challenging to shape normally. Customization for nutritive value, color, texture, aesthetic appeal, or others, is performed based on specific requirements achieved through printing. However, little is known about developing low glycemic index (GI) foods structured with 3DP.

Materials

This work focuses on low-GI 3D-printed Marzipan, a popular sweet, conventionally made from almonds. Different natural sweeteners were studied and their impact on printability as well as sensorial acceptance was assessed. Specifically, rheological (static, dynamic, and three-interval thixotropic test (3ITT)), textural, and crystallinity tests were performed to understand the printability nature of the samples.

Results and Conclusion

The rheological results revealed that the flow behavior indices (n) of all formulations ranged from 0.3 to 0.5, indicating their shear-thinning behavior. The 3ITT tests revealed the time-dependent recovery (63.2-70.5%) for all formulations. All material supplies had crystallinity ranging from 38 to 58%, and GI values ranging from 45.06 to 53.33. The optimal printing conditions to print a 3D chalice model were 1.22 mm nozzle size, 3 bar compressed air pressure, 15 rpm motor speed, and 800 mm/min printing speed. Stability assessment of the printed constructs at varying infill densities (25, 50, and 75%) and time intervals (6, 12, 18, 36 h), alongside sensory evaluation, highlighted that the sugar formulation was the best, followed by monk fruit. This work's findings will be significant in studies involving the development of low-GI 3D-printed foods.