ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 1

Acceptability and Benefits of Carrot Crust Pizza

Lauren Williams

San Francisco State University

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 2

Abstract

Background

The carrot is a root vegetable that many say are the “perfect health food”. It is crunchy,

sweet, and has a high nutritional value, allowing the best of both worlds with consumption.

Carrots are a good source of antioxidants, potassium, fiber, vitamin K, and beta carotene.

Their health benefits are plentiful, considering they are linked to lower cholesterol levels and

improved eye health. A reduced risk of cancer is also associated with the carotene in the

carrots. (Bjarnadottir, 2015). Overall, carrots are an optimal health food with a variety of

benefits that can be very beneficial.

Objective

This experiment was used to determine if a carrot pizza crust was acceptable to be used in

place of a traditional flour pizza crust. This test was done to see if implementing vegetables

into a popular meal kids enjoy can be palatable and successful.

Design

The independent variable was the pizza crust. The dependent variable was the density, flavor,

and texture of the pizza as a whole, including the tomato sauce and cheese on top. Carrot

crust was used as a substitute for flour crust. Each plate had three different samples labeled

randomly with identifying numbers. The control pizza was assigned sample 136. The 50/50

was assigned sample 112. The 100% sample was assigned sample 162. The subjective testing

involved 25 people invited to taste the pizza without prior knowledge of the substituted
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 3

ingredient. After the tasting, guests filled out a survey rating the pizza’s color/appearance,

texture/mouthfeel, and flavor.

Results

The overall results showed that Sample 136 (normal) was tied with sample 112 (50/50) for

best rated in texture, flavor, consistency, and overall quality. Sample 112 had the best votes

for appearance, while sample 136 had the second-best votes. Sample 162 (100% carrot) had

the lowest ratings of each quality, except aroma in which it had the best votes, while the

other two samples tied for second best votes in aroma.

Conclusion

Looking at the results, it can be said that the 50/50 sample was acceptable as a substitution. It

had the highest overall acceptability, followed by the control recipe, and ending with the

100% replacement carrot crust. It is great that the crust that had the best acceptability had

vegetables in it, which significantly increases the vitamin content of the crust. This increase

in vitamins in the crust can potentially help increase vegetable intake in our target

population, kids.
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 4

Introduction/Purpose

It is well known that children tend to be unattracted to vegetables. In fact, from 2003-

2010, children in the US ate 67% more fruit, but vegetable consumption remained the same.

Although these findings about increased fruit consumption are incredible, children in the US are

still not consuming the recommended amounts of vegetables that are required to sustain the

body’s natural processes. Nutrition education early in life can affect a child’s health and lifelong

food choices, and about 60 million children attend child care or school. Therefore, the CDC is

making efforts to support healthier food environments and are encouraging parents to help their

children eat healthier by modeling healthy habits, providing vegetables as snacks, and including

children when they are food shopping (Arias, 2018).

With children not consuming an adequate amount of vegetables, this can lead to a variety

of health problems. One of the main ones is heart disease. Being the number 1 killer in the

America, Gan (2015) showed in their study that fruit and vegetable consumption was associated

with a lower risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CHD). Food and nutrients are one the

determinants of this condition and many other chronic diseases that than develop if vegetable

intake is low during childhood growth (Gan, 2015). Other diseases than can develop over time

from lack of vegetable intake include heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and

much more. Short-term consequences from the lack of vegetables that can occur in children

include vitamin deficiencies, anemias, and constipation. Preventing these problems can definitely

be solved, and it can be as easy as and implementing vegetables into a child’s favorite meal. The
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 5

carrot crust made in this lab was made for these reasons, and this replacement created a huge

difference in vitamin and fiber content. This replacement greatly outweighs the overall

nutritional content in regular white flour and can potentially be a product that can improve the

health of children.

Review of literature

Carrots have been shown to have a variety of health benefits. At first, carrots were

originally used for medical purposes, and then later used as food. These vegetables were grown

before the tenth century, and the huge rise in the popularity of specifically the orange pigmented

carrots has been noticed because of its well-known vitamin content. The antioxidant pigments

that are potent in carrots are the carotenoids and anthocyanins. Specifically, the orange carrot is

extremely high in a-b-carotene and has an abundance of vitamin A, which is very bioavailable

for human consumption. Carrots have been ranked 10 out of 39 common vegetables for

nutritional value because of its high fiber, and specific mineral molybdenum which is rare in

other vegetables. This amazing mineral is known for its ability to help with iron absorption.

Carrots are also a good source of magnesium (which is needed for bones, protein, and activating

B vitamins), and manganese (which helps with carbohydrate metabolism and coordination of

enzymes within the body.) The magnesium and potassium in the carrots also help the muscles

function (Carlos, 2014).

Along with these health benefits, carrots have been shown to be full of antioxidants that

can work as anticarcinogens and immunoenchancers. Carrots have been shown to neutralize free

radicals and inhibit mutagenesis activity which can help prevent cancers. It has also shown that

carrots can reduce cholesterol and therefore have a protecting effect against cardiovascular

disease. This is because of the high fiber and antioxidant properties that can help prevent against
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 6

chronic diseases. Overall, carrots are associated with 32% lower risk of coronary heart disease

(Carlos, 2014).

Success with hiding vegetables in food is a strategy that can be used to improve

children’s diet. Barriers for adequate vegetable’s consumption include children’s dislike of

vegetables and their lack of openness to try new foods. A Pescud (2014) study showed that

vegetables fed to kids at an early age will likely influence their eating decisions when they are

older, so it is important to try and implement vegetables early to further develop a child’s taste

preference. Pureed vegetables added to meals help children increase preferences for them, and it

has been shown that zucchini and carrot were the most commonly hidden vegetables, followed

by leek, pumpkin, beet, celery, and potato (Pescud, 2014).

There are many benefits of hiding vegetables in food. These include an increase of

vegetables in the diet, a better variety, and decreased overall calories of meals. Although this is a

good strategy to make sure your kids are getting all of their essential nutrients, it is very

important that parents also serve vegetables that are not hidden in order to show kids that

vegetables are necessary for healthy growing (Feller, 2018). Just like the carrot pizza we

produced, it was obvious that the crust was not made out of flour because of its bright orange

color. It would be a good idea to first introduce the 50/50 recipe to kids, where the carrot sauce is

not as obvious because it is blended into the flour crust. Once the child shows a liking to it,

serving the 100% carrot crust recipe would be the next step with an explanation to the child that

the other pizza had vegetables in it, so why not try this one too? Slowly increasing awareness and

educating children about the importance of vegetables has been proven to increase vegetable

intake in this age group (Feller, 2018).

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 7

A common problem children experience throughout adolescence is issues with

constipation. In fact, as many as one-fourth of pediatric patients report constipation. Constipation

is the difficulty emptying the bowels that is associated with hardened feces. It has been proven

the soluble fiber is the best way to help relieve this problem, and carrots are a great source.

Dietary fibers such as carrots are materials in plant cell walls, and the edible portion of

carbohydrates. Fiber degradation in the colon depends on the bacteria flora, transit time in the

colon and the physical composition of the fiber (Ekvall, 2017). Carrots are a good source of

dietary fiber because they can help increase the stool weight and bulk volume, as well as gas

being trapped in the stool in order to increase frequency and movement (Dreher, 2018). Overall,

there have been a wide range of studies showing the benefits of carrots and helpfulness of

incorporating them into meals for kids.

Method/Design

This experiment was designed around the substitution of white flour for pizza crust with a

healthier carrot mixture. The reason why we picked carrot was because of its sweet properties

and its high nutrient content that was believed to still be palatable in a pizza crust and be

attractive towards kids. Our independent variables were the white flour crust and carrot crust.

Out dependent variables were the viscosity, density, texture, and flavor of the entire pizza. Three

variations of this recipe were tested, including a control, a 50% white 50% carrot crust, and a

100% carrot crust. These were prepared and tasted by guests.

The control and variations of the pizza were based off of a pizza recipe courtesy of the

blog Perfectly Nutty, and seen in Appendix A. To ensure uniformity, we measured out and

proportioned the cheese and sauce on each pizza to make sure each person got an equal amount
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 8

of everything. Each piece of pizza had about 5 grams of tomato sauce, and about 7 grams of

cheese on each piece.

Control Recipe

The control recipe was a 100% flour crust pizza. We used the raw pizza dough made by

Trader Joes. First, we spread out the dough with a rolling pin and placed it on a baking sheet.

Next, we spread ½ cup of marinara sauce on the pizza and added ¼ cup + ½ cup of mozzarella

cheese on top. We then baked the pizza for 12 minutes in the oven, and the control pizza was

ready to go.

50% Flour Crust 50% Carrot Crust Variation

For this half and half recipe, we used Trader Joe’s raw pizza dough and mixed it with our

carrot crust pizza dough. After it was thoroughly mixed, we rolled with a rolling pin and placed

on a baking sheet. We added ½ cup of marinara sauce, as well as ¼ cup + ½ cup of mozzarella

cheese on top. We then baked for 12 minutes in the oven until fully cooked and crispy.

100% Carrot Crust Recipe

The ingredients we used for this carrot crust recipe were 24 carrots, 1 cup of water, 1 ¾

cup mozzarella cheese, 3 eggs, 3 garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 1/2 marinara sauce, and 3

tbsp of parmesan cheese. First, we preheated the oven to 300 degrees F and placed the parchment

paper on a sheet. Next, we boiled carrots until soft, and placed them in a food processor and

pulsed until pureed. We then scraped the carrot puree onto a cheesecloth and wrung out the

excess water from the carrots into a bowl. We added the dried-out carrots back into the bowl and
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 9

added cheese and egg as well as graded garlic glove. We mixed this all together and rolled this

dough onto the baking sheet which was smeared with olive oil. We baked for about 27 minutes

in the oven, took it out, and then added the cheddar and parmesan cheese. We baked for another

5 minutes for the cheese to melt. After that, the carrot crust pizza was ready to be served.

Tasting

The subjective piece of this project came from the taste testing that occurred after all of the pizza

was baked. Each group in lab brought 5 people, with a total of 25 testers to taste our pizzas. Each

person was given a subjective evaluation scorecard. On the scorecard, each sample was labeled

randomly to discourage preconceptions. Our samples were labeled 136, 162, and 112. The rating

system was based on a scale of 1-7, 1 being not satisfied at all, and 7 being extremely satisfied.

The cards had columns on them where each subjective quality was ranked by the taste testers:

appearance, aroma, texture, flavor, consistency, and overall eating quality. An example of this

scorecard can be seen in Appendix E.

Results & Discussion

Objective Evaluation

The substitution of the carrot crust for the flour crust could potentially alter the qualities

of the pizza. Three objective tests were done on elements of the pizza. One of them was the

spreadability of the tomato sauce. We used an in-house spreadability apparatus from Amil to

measure the spreadability. We used ¼ cup of tomato sauce and measured the spreadability for 5

seconds. The end result was a spread 5.5cm in 5 seconds, which can visually be seen in

Appendix D. The results indicated how tomato sauce can contribute to the pizza dough texture.
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 10

The high spreadability shows how it can make a crust soggy, while a low spreadability keeps a

crust sturdy with less moisture. After 5 seconds, the pizza sauce continued to move, and about 2

minutes later the water separated and spread even more. This observation applies to our carrot

crust because it is more fragile, thus it is necessary to lessen the amount of tomato sauce from

half cup to a third cup.

The next objective test done was the index to volume (circumference) test. We measured

the circumference the pizza crust (with a ruler) before it went into the oven. Once the pizza crust

was baked, we measured the circumference again (with a ruler) to see any changes. The height

was used to calculate the height of pizza crust before and after it is baked. The results of the

height were 5.13 cm average. The pizza dough before it was baked was 10 inches, and after

baked was 9.5 inches. The carrot cheese crust sample before baked was 14 inches, and after

baked was 8 inches x 12.5 inches. This test was conducted helped us determine how much the

pizza expanded both rising as well as shrinking from the heat. After baking the regular control,

the pizza shrunk .5 inches from its diameter. After baking the experimental carrot pizza crust

shrunk in diameter about 2 inches. This is helpful for the future because it can help us determine

how many servings we can get out of the experimental pizza. Since it shrunk more, we would

therefore get a lower amount of product after baked.

The last objective test done was a nutrition analysis on the pizza dough. For the control

pizza dough, the ingredients included enriched flour, water, soybean oil, vegetable mono and

diglycerides with ascorbic acid and dextrose, salt, and I-cysteine. It had 45 calories per serving,

0.8 g total fat, 0g protein, 70mg sodium, 8g carbs, 0.08g fiber, .32g sugar, 0 mg vitamin A, 0 mg

vitamin C, and 0 mg calcium. Now compared to the 100% replacement pizza, there is a big

difference. The ingredients in this pizza included carrots, cheese, garlic, olive oil, egg, salt, and
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 11

pepper. It had 27 calories per serving, 1.44 g fat, 54.68 g sodium, 1.24 g protein, 2.37 g carbs,

0.58 g fiber, 1.2 g sugar, 2,975 IU of vitamin A, 1.67 mg vitamin C, 2.35 IC of vitamin D, and 2

mg of vitamin K. This is a huge difference in nutrient content. It is seen that vitamin content is

higher in the carrot crust, carbs are lower, and calories are lower as well. If serving sizes were

bigger than the tastes that were given during the testing, those eating a regular serving would

exceed their recommended daily value of Vitamin A, and contribute to the %DV in vitamins C,

D, E, and K.

Subjective Evaluation

For the subjective evaluation, 29 people ended up tasting the pizza with having no

knowledge on what ingredient was substituted for what. After the test, they were asked to fill out

a score card asking them to rate different qualities of each pizza sample. They were asked to also

rank which pizza they enjoyed the most. On a scale of 1-7, each person ranked the pizza’s

appearance, aroma, texture, flavor, consistency, and overall quality.

As demonstrated in figure 4, the overall results show that Sample 125 (normal) was tied

for best rated in, texture, flavor, consistency, and overall quality with sample 112 (50/50).

Sample 112 had the best votes for appearance, while sample 136 had the second-best votes.

Sample 162 (100% carrot) had the lowest ratings of each quality, except aroma in which it had

the best votes, while the other two samples tied for second best votes in aroma.

Figure 1: Average Results of Characteristic Ratings of Sample 136

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 12

Figure 2: Average Results of Characteristic Ratings of Sample 112

Figure 3: Average Results of Characteristic Ratings of Sample 112

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 13

Figure 4: Average Results of Characteristic Ratings of All Samples

Conclusion

Current research on the benefit of substituting carrots into meals is limited right now, but

the information available on carrots themselves, as well as vegetables and their role in inhibiting

disease and promoting healthy bodies is readily available. From the information available, it is

shown that carrots offer a plethora of nutritional benefits to our bodies, ranging from its potential

to reduce risk of chronic disease to easing constipation. With its properties rich in vitamins and

fiber, these are important things to think about when it comes to kids and preparing them for

healthy futures.
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 14

From the subjective tests conducted in this experiment, it was shown that there is not a

very high acceptability in incorporating carrots into crust for pizza. Of the three tests prepared,

the 50/50 pizza received the most acceptability, while the control crust came in second, and the

100% carrot crust came in third. The average scores were as followed. Sample 136 was 4.25 for

appearance, 4.1 for aroma, 5 for texture, 4.75 for flavor, 5 for consistency, and 5.25 for overall

acceptability. The averages for sample 112 was a 5 for appearance, 4.1 for aroma, 5 for texture,

4.75 for flavor, 5 for consistency, and 5.25 for overall acceptability. The averages for sample 162

was ranked a 4.1 for appearance, 4.25 for aroma, 3.8 for texture, 3.9 for flavor, 4.2 for

consistency, and 3.8 for overall acceptability. These averages were from a range of 1-7. These

results suggest that the 50/50 sample could possibly be successful in the food industry with it

having the overall highest scores, while the 100% carrot crust would most likely not do as well.

There could be many changes to the recipe and toppings of the crust to make it more

acceptable to the public. Although some people enjoyed 100% carrot pizza, there was an

overwhelming percentage who did not prefer it. The 50/50 crust got the highest average score,

but it was still not considered high compared to the 7-rating scale that was used. In the future,

tests should be done to see if there is any way the pizza crust can be altered to make it a more

desirable experience without compromising the nutritional value. Although these results are not

exciting, there is still potential for other fibrous vegetables to be added into pizza crust to receive

similar benefits. Carrots may not be the best pizza crust substitution, but further tests should be

done in order to determine this.

 ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 15

References

Arias, I. (2018). Children Eating More Fruit, but Fruit and Vegetable Intake Still Too Low. Retrieved
from https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/division-information/media-tools/dpk/vs-fruits-
vegetables/index.html.

Bjarnadottir, A. (2015, Jan 23). Carrots 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits. Retrieved from
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/carrots.
 ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 16

Carlos, J. (2014). Nutritional and health benefits of carrots and their seed extracts. Food and Nutritional
Sciences, 5 (2147), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2014.522227.

Dreher, M.L. (2018) Fiber-rich dietary patterns and foods in laxation and constipation. Springer
International Publishing, pp. 145-164, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59180-3_5.

Ekval, S.W. , Ekvall, V.K. (2017). Pediatric and Adult Nutrition in Chronic Diseases, Developmental
Disabilities, and Hereditary Metabolic Disorders. New York, New York: Oxford University
Press.

Feller, C., Durward, C. (2018). Hidden Vegetables. Utah State University Extension. Retrieved from
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/1834/.

Gan, Y. (2015). Consumption of fruit and vegetable risk of coronary heart disease” A meta-analysis of
prospective cohort studies. International Journal of Cardiology, (183), pp.129-137, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.01.077.

Pescud, M., Pettigrew, S. (2014) Parents; experiences with hiding vegetables as a strategy for improving
children’s diets. British Food Journal, 116(12), pp. 1853-1863, doi:
https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2012-0155.

Appendices

Appendix A: Main Recipe

 ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 17

Carrot Pizza Crust (Grain-Free)

Ingredients

 6 medium carrots, roughly chopped

 ⅓ cup water

 ¼ cup and ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

 1 egg

 1 garlic clove, grated or minced

 olive oil

 salt and pepper

 ½ cup marinara sauce (no-sugar added)

 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

 toppings of choice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Set aside.

2. Place carrots in a medium microwave safe bowl and add ⅓ cup of water. Cover with plastic

wrap and microwave for 7-9 minutes, or until carrots are fork tender. Remove from

microwave and let cool slightly.

3. Once cooled, place carrots in food processor and pulse until pureed.

4. Scrape carrot puree onto cheesecloth or thin kitchen towel. Gather all corners and wring out

excess water from the carrots into the sink.

5. Add carrots back to the bowl, add ¼ cup cheese, egg, and grated garlic clove. Mix well.
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 18

6. On prepared baking pan, spread carrot mixture to a ¼ inch thickness. Spray with olive oil,

sprinkle with salt and pepper.

7. Bake for 27-29 minutes or until outer crust begins to turn golden, and middle of pizza is

firm.

8. Remove from oven and add sauce, ½ cup cheddar cheese, parmesan, and toppings. Bake for

5 more minutes.

9. Turn oven to broil and broil for 3-4 minutes.

10. Remove from oven, slice, and enjoy warm!

Recipe by Beautifully Nutty at http://www.beautifullynutty.com/carrot-pizza-crust-grain-free/

Appendix B: Test 1: Pizza Control Recipe

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 19

I. Thao Tran

Ashley Tabayoyong

Lauren Williams

Mical Woldemichael

Ninette Westendorff

Lab #1 Group 5- Pizza Dough- Control

November 1, 2018

Lab Condition: It was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit inside the Miele Lab, room 406. The room

got heated as students entered the room and began cooking.

II. Purpose

The purpose of this lab to create our controlled recipe and conduct both sensory and objective

evaluations.

III. Experimental Procedures

As a group, we followed a basic pizza recipe. We gathered and weighed all our ingredients

which included flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Most of the ingredients were at room temperature

except for the chilled yeast and the warm water. Additionally, another group thawed for frozen

tomato sauce in a saucepan which we used. We placed the yeast inside the mixer with warm

water for a few minutes and added the ingredients. Using the KitchenAid mixer, we mixed the

dough until it was smooth and did not stick to the sides. The mixing process took about 5

minutes. We kneaded the dough for a few minutes. While doing this, we gathered a big bowl and
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 20

oil. After generously spreading the oil in the bowl, we put the dough inside the bowl to rise and

wrapped it in saran wrap. To speed this process up, we boiled a big pot of water, turned the lid

inside out, and placed the bowl on top of the pot. The heat from the pot helped the dough rise and

double in size. While waiting for the dough to double, we pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees.

After 30 minutes, the dough doubled its size. We rolled out the dough, spread tomato sauce,

sprinkled basil, and placed it in the oven to bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

IV. Results:

One of the objective tests we plan to conduct includes the nutrition analysis to figure out the

macronutrient content and compare it to the variable pizza crust. This test will allow us to see

how much carbohydrates, protein, and fats make up this crust and decide serving sizes. Our

target group involves children, so we want appropriate serving sizes. By comparing the pizza

crusts in terms of flavor and nutrition content, we can recognize what crust better fits our target

population.
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 21

Appendix C: Test 2: Pizza with 100% Carrot Crust Substitution

I. Names: Thao Tran

Ashley Tabayoyong

Lauren Williams

Mical Woldemichael

Ninette Westendorff

Lab #2 Group 5- Pizza Dough- 100% Substitute Recipe

Date: October 7, 2018

Laboratory Conditions: It was about 68 degrees Fahrenheit inside the Miele Lab, room 406. The

room got heated as students entered the room and began cooking.

II. Purpose:

a. The purpose of this lab was to test our replacement recipe and to perform two objective tests

on our product. We will then compare the results of these objective tests with our controlled

recipe.

III. Experimental Procedures:

a. First, we created our product, carrot crust pizza. We followed a recipe obtained from Melina

who is the owner of the food blog called Beautifully Nutty.

b. Next, we performed the following two objective tests:

 ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 22

1. Index to volume (circumference): used to test the volume before and after the produce is

baked.

● We measured the circumference the pizza crust (with a ruler) before it went into

the oven.

● Once the pizza crust was baked, we measured the circumference again (with a

ruler) to see any changes.

ii. Height: used to calculate the height of pizza crust before and after it is baked

2. Nutrition analysis(online): carbohydrates, fat, protein, and fiber

IV. Results:

Circumference

a. Before oven: 10 inches

After oven: 9.5 inches

b. Height

Before oven: 3 mm

After oven: 1 mm

Nutrition Analysis for entire pizza:

Calories:854 Fat: 39g 36g protein 85 g carbs 23g fiber

kcal

c. Visuals

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

 ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 23

Carrot was Carrots were Excess carrot Carrot puree Salt, pepper, and Carrot mixture

chopped and pureed in food juice was was placed garlic was added was shaped and

boiled until processor and removed into bowl to carrot puree baked in the

tender transferred to a and mixed oven

cheese cloth for

liquid removal

Additional information:

d. Our finished product turned out fairly well. We had two carrot crust that were baked. One

was baked lower in the oven than the other which made the crust crispier than the one on top.

The carrot crust taste like pizza which was a surprised to us because we thought that it would

taste sweeter than normal due to the fact that it’s made from carrots. The carrot crust that was on

top was much more tender and softer. This might have been due to where it was placed in the

oven or the baking time. We will recalculate the bake time to identify the correct time in order to

create a crispy crust. Then, we will re-create our replacement recipe and perform the objective

tests again.

This crust was gluten-free which made it drastically differ from the original pizza dough

in its texture, chew, procedures and ingredients. This dough required cheese and egg to bind the
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 24

pizza together because there was no gluten overdevelopment. Because it lacked gluten, we had to

thin the pizza out with our hands for it to cook thoroughly. To prevent a soggy crust, we used the

cheesecloth to remove most of the water from the carrots. The texture and the mouthfeel of the

crust was a lot different because it was thin, soft, and weighed down by the cheese. It was more

on the greasy side. Next time, we will add less cheese on top to help it be more study and taste

less oily.

As seen with our objective tests, this crust does not resemble a regular pizza crust. With

the index to circumference testing, it did not change by much from its cooking time. It did not

expand and instead shrunk slightly. The height also fell down which may be due to too much

cheese. The nutritional breakdown of the carrot crust shows a lot more fat, protein, and fiber than

the regular pizza dough which is only high in refined carbohydrates. The fat comes mostly from

the cheese we added on the top, though the crust itself contains cheese and egg. The high protein

content comes from the cheese and egg too. The fiber comes from the carrots and a little from

the tomato sauce.

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 25

Appendix D: Test 4: Product Trial Run

I. Names: Thao Tran

Ashley Tabayoyong

Lauren Williams

Mical Woldemichael

Ninette Westendorff

Lab #3 Group 5- Pizza Dough- Product Trial Run

Date: November 29th, 2018

Laboratory Conditions: warm temperature (approximately 75-degrees F) and average humidity,

noisy, in Burk Hall 406.

II. Purpose:

a. The purpose of this lab was to test all three samples: our control, experimental, and

combination in the final product trial run. Additionally, we completed subjective and objective

evaluations.

III. Experimental Procedures:

a. First, we created our carrot pizza crust and doubled the recipe to form one large dough.

This process involved boiling the carrots until tender and straining the liquid, then we added it to
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 26

the food processor. Afterwards, we used a cheesecloth to ring out the water and then combined

eggs, cheese, and garlic to complete the dough. We used pre-baked plain pizza dough from

Trader Joes to replace our control. For the combination, we used some of the carrot pizza dough

mixture and packed it into the pizza before topping it with tomato sauce. After preheating to 400

degrees Fahrenheit, the 50/50 pizza and the control cooked for about 15 minutes while the carrot

crust cooked for 29 minutes. Then, tomato sauce and cheese was added and they were all cooked

for an additional 5 minutes.

b. Next, we performed the following three objective tests:

i. Spreadability of the tomato sauce:

● We used an in-house spreadability apparatus from Amil to measure the

spreadability.

● We used ¼ cup of tomato sauce and measured the spreadability for 5 seconds.

The end result was a spread 5.5cm in 5 seconds.

¼ cup Tomato Sauce: Spreadability:

ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 27

ii. Index to volume (circumference)

● We measured the circumference the pizza crust (with a ruler) before it went into

the oven.

● Once the pizza crust was baked, we measured the circumference again (with a

ruler) to see any changes

● Height: used to calculate the height of pizza crust before and after it is baked

iii. Nutrition analysis for combination pizza and control pizza dough, no sauce or

cheese included

IV. Results:

a. Spreadability: 5.5 cm in 5 seconds

b. Height: average height = 5.13 cm

Pizza dough before baked: 10 inches

After baked: 9 ½ inches

Carrot cheese before baked: 14 inches

After Baked: 8 inches x 12.5 inches

c. Nutrition Analysis Pizza:

The Trader Joe's Monteli pizza crust contains wheat flour, water, sunflower oil, extra virgin olive

oil, salt, malted wheat flour, dextrose, semolina, dried wheat sourdough, and yeast.

(Entire crust) Calories: 1360 Fat: 36g Carbohydrates:216g Fiber: 8g. Protein:32g
ACCEPTABILITY AND BENEFITS OF CARROT CRUST PIZZA 28

d. Visuals

50/50 pizza (carrot cheese + regular pizza dough)

Carrot Cheese crust

Regular Pizza Crust (frozen) 100% Carrot Crust Carrot Crust Mixture:

V.

Discussion:

● Outcome of testing: The tests we conducted helped us determine how much the pizza

expanded both rising as well as shrinking from the heat. After baking regular control, the

pizza shrunk .5 inches from its diameter. After baking the experimental carrot pizza crust

shrunk in diameter about 2 inches. The tomato sauce spreadability test indicated how

tomato sauce can contribute to the pizza dough texture. The high spreadability shows

how it can make a crust soggy, while a low spreadability keeps a crust sturdy with less

moisture. After 5 seconds, the pizza sauce moved some and about 2 minutes later, the

water separated and spread even more. This observation applies to our carrot crust

because it is more fragile, thus it is necessary to lessen the amount of tomato sauce from

half cup to a third cup.

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● Possible errors or factors influential in the results.

In a previous lab, we made our control pizza with dough that was made from scratch. To

save time this lab, we created our controlled product and 50/50 product from already made store

bought dough. By changing the crust from dough that was made in class to already made dough,

the products texture and taste could have been affected.

● Conclusions

Our carrot crust greatly improved from the previous batch in terms of texture as it

resembled normal pizza. In the previous trial, we accidentally omitted one of the eggs. With this

addition, it binded properly. Additionally, we lessened the cheese on top to about half a cup

which made it sturdier. The combination pizza did not turn out so well in terms of flavor because

we did not add enough carrot dough to it. It tasted pretty similar to the control. So, for the final

run we will increase it to about half a cup so that the carrot is more substantial part of the pizza.

However, we do not want to add too much because this pizza is catered to children, so our

purpose is for to ensure the benefits without them detecting the carrots.
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Appendix E: Scorecard Sample

Please rate the following samples with this scale 1-5

Not satisfied at all Not good Moderately satisfied Good Extremely satisfied

Samples Appearance Aroma Texture Flavor Consistency Overall eating

quality
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