326: Reimagining Cookies: The Power of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato and Coconut Flour Blends

Introduction

Total replacement of wheat flour with orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and coconut flours (CFs) rich in crude fiber, protein, and minerals will increase nutrients, diversify utilization of OFSP and coconut residue, and increase cookie variety. The functional, chemical, and sensory properties of flour/cookies produced from blends of OFSP and CFs were studied.

Methods

Orange-fleshed sweet potato was washed, peeled, sliced, dried, milled, and sieved into flour. Coconut was dehusked, washed, sliced and ground, then milk was extracted to produce coconut residue. The residue was dry-roasted for 30 min on low heat to produce coconut flour. Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and coconut flour (CFs) were used in the ratio 100:0, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25 and 70:30 to produce six samples of cookies. The quality of OFSP and CFs/cookies was assessed in terms of functional, proximate, mineral, and sensory analyses.

Results

Significant differences (p < 0.05) existed in all the parameters measured. compositions. The functional properties of the flour samples ranged from 1.71-2.60%, 0.43-0.75 mg/g, 0.48-0.71 g/mL, 50.11-55.43% and 14.10-14.62 sec for water absorption capacity, swelling power, dispersibility, and wettability respectively. The proximate composition (%) of the cookies ranged from 6.82-8.19 for moisture, 2.13-4.03 for ash, 2.11-.57 for crude fiber, 5.08-8.76 for protein and 68.24-79.66 for carbohydrate. The mineral contents (mg/100 g) of the cookies ranged from 1.40-2.46, 2.09-5.14, 1.13-2.08, 2.20-3.08, and 3.12-3.77 for magnesium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, and sodium, respectively. In the sensory evaluation of the cookies, the overall acceptability showed that control sample SPS (100% OFSP) had the lowest mean score of 6.55 while SP2 (70:30 OFSP/CF) had the highest score of 7.40.

Significance

Cookies produced from 70:30 OFSP/CFs were most acceptable. The study further enhances the strengths of cookies in new product formulation. It also has influence on local and global perspectives on food security, functional food development, and value addition to underutilized crops, with positive implications for health and sustainability worldwide.

Authors: Helen O. Agu, Onyebuchi T. Okoro, Joy C. Mba, Afam I. O. Jideani