Chemical Analysis of Arenga Palm Sugar and Its Relationship with Consumer Acceptability

Abstract

In Indonesia, the quality of Arenga palm sugar must meet certain chemical component requirements, including water-insoluble material, water content, ash content, reducing sugar content, and sucrose content. The heating process of the sap water can affect the quality of the palm sugar, as well as the preferences of consumers because it affects sensory attributes. The aroma and taste of palm sugar are mainly influenced by the levels of reducing sugar and sucrose. The research objective is to determine the correlation between the chemical components of palm sugar and its consumer acceptance by comparing the data from different regions. The explanatory sequential method is used, which involves two tests for sensory analysis: the Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) test and the ANOVA test. The Pearson correlation method is used to analyze the correlation between palm sugar chemistry and customer acceptance. The research revealed that the water-insoluble material and sucrose content of palm sugar did not meet the Indonesian national standards (SNI). Sucrose sugar content is negatively correlated with the aroma of palm sugar, where the panelists’ preference for palm sugar increased if the sucrose sugar content was lower.