Yerba‐Mate Enrichment of Brazilian pão de queijo : Impact on Product Quality and Sensory Evaluation

ABSTRACT Incorporating yerba‐mate extract into rapidly consumed products offers a strategic approach to enhance their nutritional and medicinal benefits, despite challenges related to stability and bitterness. This study investigated the effect of yerba‐mate extract (YME) on the physicochemical, antioxidant, textural, and sensory attributes of pão de queijo . YME substituted water in the formulation at levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. The pasting profile of cassava starch was slightly changed by increasing YME, with a reduction in peak and breakdown viscosity, while increasing final and setback viscosity. However, the texture of pão de queijo was not significantly affected, maintaining hardness and chewiness in fresh samples. A decrease in firmness over time was observed compared to the control. Incorporating YME enhanced antioxidant activity and total phenolic content with no substantial increase beyond 50% YME. Sensory evaluation showed acceptance indices of 87.11% for the control and 85.33% PQ50%. Terms such as “intense greenish color” and “very bitter taste” were rarely mentioned, indicating that characteristic sensory attributes of yerba mate were not perceived in the product. This substitution effectively enhanced the functionality of pão de queijo by introducing antioxidant properties without compromising consumer acceptance.