Effect of mixing pumpkin powder with wheat flour on physical, nutritional and sensory characteristics of cookies

Abstract

They are usually made cookies with wheat flour which contains a limited amount of β-carotene which is a precursor of vitamin A. Pumpkin is a rich source of β-carotene, which is responsible for its yellow or orange colour. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum level of substitution of carotene rich pumpkin powder (10%) in the formulation and to assess the quality of cookies. The prepared pumpkin powder was assessed for proximate parameters. Cookies were prepared by replacing wheat flour with pumpkin powder at different levels (viz. 10%, and 20%) and were assessed for their proximate, texture and sensory parameters. Pumpkin powder incorporated cookies contained 3.20% moisture, 12.43% protein, 1.99% ash, 2.79% fibre, and 36.80 µg /100 g of total carotene (on dry basis). Sensory evaluation indicated that cookies with pumpkin powder incorporated at the level of 10% was found to be more acceptable. Substitution beyond 10% affected the colour and overall acceptability of the final product. Adding pumpkin powder not only increases the nutritive value of cookies, but also brings about a value addition to pumpkin.