Physicochemical properties of novel cookies produced from orange-fleshed sweet potato cookies enriched with sclerotium of edible mushroom (Pleurotus tuberregium)

Abstract

This study investigated the suitability of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and sclerotium of Pleurotus tubberegium in the production of cookies. Cookies were prepared from the blends of OFSP and sclerotium in varying proportions of 100:0, 90:20, 80:20, 70:30 and 0:100, respectively while wheat flour (100%) was used as control. The proximate composition, free sugars, water soluble vitamins and mineral contents were determined. The sensory attributes were also evaluated using descriptive test. The moisture, protein, fat, ash, crude fibre and carbohydrate content of cookies samples were in the range of 12.04–15.33%, 5.66–11.02%, 9.72–10.44%, 1.01–3.68%, 1.01–3.68% and 62.34–67.22%, respectively. The OFSP based cookies contained appreciably higher amount of minerals and water-soluble vitamins than the control. The 30% supplemented OFSP cookies had the highest content of Iron (30.56 mg/100 g) and Zinc (5.43 mg/100 g). This study demonstrated that OFSP and sclerotium of Pleurotus tubberegium can be used to produce nutritionally improved cookies with acceptable sensory characteristics as a food based approach in addressing malnutrition in developing countries. Keywords: Orange fleshed sweet potato, Mushroom, Cookies, Chemical composition, Sensory evaluation