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Student Team Debuts Decadent, Convenient Banana Dessert
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| Virginia Tech Food Science and Technology Development Team was one of six finalists chosen to receive a travel grant to the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting to compete in the IFT Product Development Competition. |
Who doesn’t like a banana split? Fresh fruit, three flavors of ice cream, and chocolate syrup – yum!
That vision was the basis for a new product developed by a team of Virginia Tech students: frozen, bite-sized slices of banana filled with creamy chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry nonfat frozen yogurt and coated in dark chocolate. Called “Banana Splitters,” the new confection is packaged as nine pieces – three of each flavor – in a sleeve, six sleeves in a package, to be marketed next to the ice cream and other frozen goodies. And – get this – a serving size is an entire sleeve!
The 13-member Virginia Tech Food Science and Technology Product Development Team created Banana Splitters as its entry in the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Product Development Competition, sponsored by Mars, Inc. The team was one of six finalists that received a travel grant to the IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo in 2007.
“We wanted a product that would meet current market trends, including convenience, bite-sized pieces, and portion control,” says Sabrina Hannah of Elverson, Pa., a Ph.D. candidate in food science and technology. “We also wanted the product to stand out in the market, which is why we designed it to have a full serving of fruit per serving.”
Always practical, Govindaraj Dev Kumar of Chennai, India, a master’s degree student in food science and technology, points out that nonfat yogurt with a full serving of fruit is a healthy alternative to ice cream. “The judges liked that there are two different ways to sell it,” he says.
A sensory panel liked the product too, giving it an average rating of 7.6 on a scale of 1 to 9. “That is between ‘likes moderately’ and ‘likes very much,’ ” said Annie Aigster of Valencia, Venezuela, a human nutrition, foods and exercise Ph.D. candidate.
In addition to popularity tests, the students performed a number of other tests in their product preparation, including tests for safety, quality, and shelf life. Students found the product’s individual packaging made consumer abuse unlikely. They also tested the product under “thoughtless-handling conditions,” such as handling it without proper hand washing and leaving a container unrefrigerated for as long as 30 minutes, then refreezing it. Banana Splitters demonstrated no significant safety concerns.
The team members prepared the product under pilot plant conditions using the food processing lab, dairy processing lab, and sensory kitchen of Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology. They purchased the bananas locally, using color as an indicator of ripeness and selecting for size and shape. After slicing the bananas and coring the slices, the team treated them with a solution of dextrose, ascorbic acid, and citric acid, which solved the issue of bananas’ tendency to turn brown. The slices were then flash frozen and frozen yogurt was piped into the centers of the slices.
After some lively discussion and enjoyable taste testing to determine what kind of chocolate coating would be used – thick or thin, dark or milk – the team selected a product with the just-right thickness from commercial providers. They decided to go with dark chocolate because of its current popularity. The team’s market study found that Banana Splitters – the delicious, convenient treat with a healthy twist – appeals to people of all ages.