Abstract:

This work investigated the nutrient potential, physical and sensory properties of biscuits made from flour blends of wheat and tropical almond seeds. The tropical almond fruits were cracked open, the seeds extracted, dried and finely milled. Composite flour samples were made by partially substituting wheat with 10%, 20% and 30% inclusion levels of tropical almond seed flour. The composite flours were mixed with other baking ingredients and used to produce biscuits. The biscuits were subjected to proximate, physical and sensory analyses to ascertain the nutrient potential, physical attributes and degree of acceptability. There were significant differences amongst the samples tested, across parameters. The range of values of the results based on proximate analysis is as follows: Protein (10.06 to 11.70%), fat (13.36 to 15.42%), moisture (4.10 to 8.48%), ash (1.74 to 3.41%), crude fiber (1.06 to 3.60%) and carbohydrate (59.45 to 67.62%). Selected physical properties are as follows for mean diameter, thickness, weight and volume: 51.25 - 61.21mm, 7.20 - 8.46mm, 13.96 – 17.69g and 17.55 – 23.45cm3 respectively. The outcome of sensory evaluation indicated that, amongst the composite flour samples, the 90% wheat: 10% tropical almond seed blend was the most preferred biscuit sample (besides the Control) using a 9-point hedonic scale on all parameters tested. This work suggests that there exists a positive potential for improving biscuit quality and variety by the incorporation of wheat and flour from the underutilised tropical almond seed.