Effect of Partial Substitution on Physical, Functional and Chemical Properties of Cookies Made from Mixture of Wheat and Coconut

Abstract

Background: Since the closure of the wheat development company in Cameroon, all wheat is imported, but over the past year, the wheat prices have steadily increased in most of the countries' markets. The cost of a kilo, monitored by Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), fell from XAF 500 to XAF 600. With the use of composite flour, this will help to reduce the huge amount of money spent and lessen total dependence on imported wheat flour. Aim: The objective of this study was to produce cookies from composite flour made from coconut and wheat, and determine its nutritional properties and acceptability. Material and methods: Coconut flour was produced from fresh coconut using oven drying at standard conditions. The composite flour was formulated using the mixing plan design in Minitab 18.0. The functional properties of the flour and nutritional properties of the cookie samples were determined. Results: Results of functional properties show that the bulk density of CF1, CF2, CF3, CF4, and CF5 was 0.58, 0.50, 0.50, 0.46 and 0.47 g/L respectively; the pH was 6.42, 6.32, 6.37, 6.40, 6.46 respectively; swelling capacity was 49.10%, 44.07%, 42.02%, 46.23%, 47.09% respectively; water absorption capacity was 12%, 9%, 10.3%, 10.4%, 10% respectively; From this, the swelling capacity, water absorption and oil absorption capacity increased significantly with substitution (p < 0.05). The result of nutritional properties showed that the moisture was not affected by substitution in contrast to lipid, protein, fiber, carbohydrates, starch, amylose and amylopectin. The moisture, carbohydrate, starch and amylose decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with the substitution while ash, fat, protein and fiber increased. Results of the sensory analysis showed that the 85% wheat biscuits (CF3) had the highest scores in all the parameters evaluated and were better accepted than the other samples. Conclusion: These findings indicate that supplementation of cookies with coconut flour will improve the nutritional value of cookies and acceptability.