Consumers’ perception of bakery products with insect fat as partial butter replacement

Abstract Including insect ingredients into familiar food products could be a step in enabling a higher acceptance of insects in Western countries. This study investigates the potential of bakery products containing black soldier fly larvae fat (BSF LF) as an ingredient. Sensory and emotional profiling, WTP, liking and product preference were examined for cakes, cookies, and waffles for a total of 344 respondents. Each bakery product was formulated with 0%, 25% and 50% BSF LF as butter substitute. Results showed that BSF LF can replace 25% of butter in these bakery products without changing the overall food experience and liking. In waffles, the substitution might even be up to 50% without influencing consumer’s acceptance. The attributes related to texture and color were hardly affected indicating that this insect fat provides a similar structure and functionality to bakery products as compared with butter. Future research should explore the use of refined BSF LF to reduce off-flavors perceived in formulations containing a higher percentage of insect fat.