Organoleptic evaluation of chicken nuggets with different levels of carrot (Daucus carota L.) addition

Abstract

Chicken nuggets are widely consumed processed meat products, whereas carrots can be incorporated as a vegetable ingredient to provide dietary fiber, carotenoids, natural color, and characteristic flavor. This study aimed to evaluate the sensory acceptability of chicken nuggets formulated with different levels of fresh carrot (Daucus carota L.). The study was conducted in July 2023 in Bukit Gadang, Tilatang Kamang, Agam Regency, Indonesia. Four formulations were evaluated: A (0% carrot), B (10%), C (20%), and D (30%), with carrot addition calculated relative to 500 g of chicken meat. Forty panelists evaluated color, aroma, taste, and texture using a five-point hedonic scale. The responses were analyzed descriptively using frequency distributions and weighted mean hedonic scores. Treatment D had the highest mean hedonic scores for all sensory attributes, with scores of 4.40 for color, 4.40 for aroma, 4.40 for taste, and 4.15 for texture. In addition, 52.5% of panelists gave the highest preference rating for color, 52.5% for aroma, 55.0% for taste, and 35.0% for texture in treatment D. These findings indicate that, among the formulations tested, chicken nuggets containing 30% carrot showed the highest descriptive sensory acceptability. However, because no inferential statistical analysis was performed, the observed differences among treatments cannot be interpreted as statistically significant.