European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety

Background: Basundi is a traditional concentrated milk sweet commonly prepared with added sucrose.

Aims: To optimise the formulation of experimental basundi by evaluating the levels of stevia, erythritol and a stabiliser blend using response surface methodology (RSM) and to evaluate the quality characteristics of the optimised product.

Study Design: The study was carried out using a face-centred central composite design (FCCD) within response surface methodology to evaluate and optimise the formulation of experimental basundi. A completely randomised design (CRD) was used to select a suitable flavouring agent.

Place and Duration of Study: Dairy Technology Department, SMC College of Dairy Science, Kamdhenu University, Anand, Gujarat, India, from August 2025 to July 2026.

Methodology: The milk concentration ratio (2.4-fold) and the rate of addition of caramel flavour (0.2 ml/kg of the final product) were fixed based on sensory evaluation. Accordingly, caramel flavour was added in each experimental run with varying levels of stevia, erythritol and the stabiliser blend. The responses considered for RSM included sensory attributes of basundi, namely flavour, body and texture, colour and appearance and total score, along with a physical property, viscosity. The experimental basundi was prepared according to the optimised formulation recommended by RSM. Subsequently, cardamom was selected as the most suitable flavouring agent among those evaluated using CRD based on sensory evaluation. The optimised stevia basundi was then evaluated for its proximate composition, physicochemical characteristics, sensory attributes and microbiological quality.

Results: The optimised formulation consisted of 231 mg stevia, 4.0 g erythritol and 0.1 g stabiliser blend per kg of milk with an overall desirability of 0.887. Response surface analysis demonstrated that stevia significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the sensory quality of basundi by reducing the score for flavour and total score at both the linear and quadratic levels. In the optimised basundi, cardamom powder was added at the rate of 1.0 g per kg of the final product. The optimised stevia basundi contained 31.67±0.18 per cent total solids, 10.53±0.06 per cent fat, 7.78±0.13 per cent protein, 1.59±0.03 per cent ash and 11.77±0.13 per cent total carbohydrates.

Conclusion: Response surface methodology effectively optimised the formulation of stevia basundi, resulting in a product with desirable quality characteristics and good sensory acceptability. The optimised product may also serve as a “reduced calorie” dairy sweet with potential for wider consumer acceptance.