Effect of overripe banana pulp incorporation on nutritional composition, physical properties, and sensory acceptability of chocolate cookies

The intake of dietary fibre (DF) has been proven to lower the risk of chronic diseases, leading to the increasing demand for fibre-enriched bakery product. Banana is one of the most consumed fruits that exhibits rich sources of DF and provides excellent nutritional health benefits. However, overripe banana is discarded due to its low quality and appearance. Thus, the present work was aimed to determine the properties of chocolate cookies formulated with overripe banana pulp powder (OBPP) as partial replacement (0, 6, 8, and 10%) for wheat flour. Nutritional composition, physical properties, and sensory acceptability of the cookies were analysed using AOAC methods, texture profile analyser, and 7-point hedonic scaling method, respectively. Results showed that increased incorporation of OBPP significantly increased the nutritional values of chocolate cookies. Chocolate cookies formulated with 10% of OBPP recorded the highest total dietary fibre (8.21%) and ash (1.23%) contents. In texture profile analysis, the firmness of the chocolate cookies was recorded to increase slightly with increasing level of OBPP, although this was not significant. Sensory scores for the control (0%) and 6% OBPP-incorporated cookies were not significantly different for all the sensory attributes. However, the incorporation of 8% OBPP produced the highest scores in terms of aroma, flavour, and overall acceptance. In summary, the addition of 8% OBPP could be an effective way to produce nutritious and the most palatable chocolate cookies. (C) All Rights Reserved