Optimization of Low Calorie Cucumber Jam Production Process Using Natural Stevia Sweetener

In recent years, following the increasing attention to maintaining a healthy and balanced body weight, much research has been carried out on the use of sweeteners and finding alternatives. In this study, the reduction of sugar in cucumber jam formulation was investigated using stevia sweetener. In order to optimize the formula and produce low-calorie cucumber jam, two factors, sugar and stevia, were studied at three different levels (30, 50 and 100%). After production, the jam was refrigerated and its physicochemical and organoleptic properties including quality control tests, microbial tests and sensory evaluation were assessed in four time periods of immediately after production and 10, 20 and 30 days after production. The results showed that it is possible to replace the percentage of sugar in the formulation of cucumber jam with stevia and the sample containing 50% sugar and 50% stevia obtained good scores from sensory evaluators and can be used as diet cucumber jam.