Significance of the Study

The researchers made this product to make it as a source of profit and also to

provide a healthy and appetizing dessert. This product would be beneficial to the

following groups of people:

Children. They are the primary beneficiaries of the study and this study would

help the children realize the importance of consuming Cucumber leche flan with cream

cheese. Also, it would be beneficial to them because the product would be convenient

to eat, cheap and can satisfy their cravings.

Community. The study would be beneficial to the community because the

introduction of a healthy, appetizing dessert such as the product described can provide

an alternative to the usual recipes involving Cucumber. Also, this would provide enough

attention to Cucumber and they can further develop other recipes that use this

vegetable.

Teachers. The study will also benefit the teachers because this paper can be

used as an instrument for education. This study can be used as an example of why

student researchers should focus on developing other food products for Cucumber.

Future Researchers. This study could serve as a reference for future studies to

be conducted by future researchers. This could also bring enough interest to Cucumber

and thus, future researchers would be interested in investing time, money and effort in

researching the vegetable.

To determine the acceptability of Cucumber leche flan with cream cheese in

Barangay Salac, Lumban, Laguna as perceived by the people living in that area during

the School Year 2021 – 2022. The aspect is to determine the price, taste, and texture of

the product to the people. The researchers conducted a survey using a questionnaire

specifically planned for the purpose of the study for the respondents of Brgy. Salac

Lumban, Laguna.

It would also only include the fruit of the Cucumber plant and will not include

other parts of the plant. Also, it would only focus in determining the acceptability of the

product among the Residents of Brgy. Salac Lumban, Laguna. Lastly, it would only

focus on the production of Cucumber leche flan with cream cheese and its related

information.
Definition of Terms

The following terms were defined according to how they are being used in the study:

Acceptability. It is the quality of being accepted the attribute of being acceptable and

capable of being agreed upon or approved.

Appearance. It is the factor that consists of the product’s size, shape, texture and color.

Aroma. It is a distinctive, pervasive, and usually pleasant or savory smell and it is an

odor produced by spices, plants, cooking, etc., especially a pleasant odor; scent

Cucumber. This plant's edible, fleshy fruit, cylindrical in shape with rounded ends and

with a green, warty skin. It is also a Cucumis sativus creeping plant in the gourd family

that comes in a variety of cultivated varieties.

Cream Cheese. It is a soft, rich cheese made from unskimmed milk and cream.

Leche Flan. It is a caramel-topped custard treat prepared with condensed milk and egg

yolks.

Price. It is the monetary value of an object needed to obtain it. The amount of money

expected, required, or given in payment for something.

Students. It is an individual that goes into a school to study. A term used to describe

someone who is pursuing a degree in order to pursue a specific career path.

Taste. It is the bodily sense that distinguishes the sweetness, saltiness, bitterness and

sourness of a food.

Texture. It is a surface's or substance's feel, look, or consistency.

Review of Related Literature

This chapter shows a retrospective presentation of previously written material:

research literature and conceptual that has relevance and significance to the research

under considered.

Taste

Exposure to new foods, especially via tasting, helps people acquire a preference for

them, and this has been documented in the literature since the early 1980’s, such as in

(Pliner, 1982).

Wardle et al. (2003) agree, stating that “experimental studies with infants, children

and adults have provided strong support for the efficacy of exposure, demonstrating that

tasting a food or drink more often increases liking for it.”

Cox et al. (2012) found that exposure to sensory characteristics, rather than health

benefit information alone, was more effective in increasing the popularity of Brassica

vegetables among adults.

Texture

Texture of food materials plays a key role in consumer acceptance and market value.

Texture features are considered important from both quality assurance and food safety

perspectives (Wilhelm et al., 2004). 

assess consumer acceptability. Among the texture characteristics, hardness (firmness)

is one of the most important parameters, which is often used to determine the freshness

of food. Springiness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness and gumminess are significant

properties for the texture evaluation for meat-based products. Textural quality attributes

of food may be evaluated by descriptive sensory or instrumental analyses (Chen and

Opara, 2013a). 

Although flavour is commonly found to be an important sensory factor responsible for

the preference of foods, texture is often cited by consumers as the reason for not liking

certain foods (Cardello, 1996).

Appearance

The optical appearance of food is important for the consumer. The color of food

surface is the first quality parameter evaluated by consumers, and it is critical to product

acceptance. Food appearance determined mostly by surface color is the first sensation

that the consumer perceives and uses as a tool to either accept or reject food (Leon

et al., 2006). 6).

A food's appearance therefore can be reduced to two principal factors, the physical

and the psychological. The physical factors consist of the geometrical, the food's

dimensions of size, shape and intrinsic characteristic variability in uniformity and mass,

and the optical, surface gloss or dullness, the nature and degree of pigmentation, and

the light-scattering power of the food's structure. The objective, therefore, is to convert

the physical to the psychological by translating the object's reflectance or transmittance

2010).

The study by Elder, et.al, (2017) proposed that imagined senses that require close

proximity to the body in order to be sensed (i.e., taste, touch) will feel more

psychologically proximal than senses that do not require such close proximity (i.e.,

hearing, sight). We obtain support for our theoretical framework across a pilot study,

four lab studies, and one field study by examining how images evoked using different

sensory modalities differentially influence variables shown in past research to vary

along psychological distance: the imagined distance between the consumer and the

stimulus, (2) product perceptions on other dimensions of psychological distance, and

persuasion when matched with other dimensions of psychological distance.

Aroma

Human perception of food aroma and texture during consumption is a complicated

process in which taste, mouthfeel, vision, olfaction, the trigeminal system and even

auditory signals contribute to the total appreciation of a food product (Sheperd, 1995)

Food aroma is very sensitive to the processing and storage conditions. Flavor loss as

well as off- flavor development is a problem for the food industry, and could be limited

by the encapsulation of the volatile ingredients prior to their use (Madene et al., 2006).

Non-volatile compounds that are responsible for the basic tastes diffuse into the

saliva and subsequently reach the gustatory receptors. Furthermore, during oral

processing and after swallowing, volatile aroma compounds are released from the food

matrix and are able to flow to the olfactory epithelium, where they interact with olfactory
receptors. During food intake, the different senses interact in a non-linear way. Cross-

modal phenomena, in which aroma influences the perception of the taste (and vice

versa) of a food product, have been described (Stevenson et al., 1999; Hort and

Hollowood, 2004; Pfeiffer et al., 2005).