Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies Produced from Theobroma cacao Shell Flour

Abstract

According to statistics, around 4,000,000 tons of cocoa mass is produced annually for the mass production of cocoa, and about 114,000 tons are the wastes incurred from cacao shells. Several studies have found high contents in certain nutrients in these shells. Particularly for its fiber content, it has been found that around 5060% of the cacao shells consists of the total dietary fiber. This study reconciles the wastes produced from cocoa production, specifically shell wastes, and its high significant dietary fiber levels. It further aims to produce brownies with flour from pulverized cacao shells which would then be evaluated for acceptability and analyzed for dietary fiber content. In doing so, a recipe was tried thrice applying the modifications of predetermined ratio of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Sensory Characteristics Evaluation and Acceptability was conducted to 41 conveniently sampled panelists. Results were statistically analyzed using One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine significant differences among ratings, and if significant, was further analyzed through Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference Test. The Dietary Fiber content was measured through the AOAC and AACC Methods which was statistically analyzed through ANOVA and Linear Regression. Results for sensory evaluation showed that 25% was the most preferred ratio, followed by 75%, 50% and then 100% as the least preferred while the dietary fiber content was found to be increasing as the percentage of cacao shell flour increases. Overall, 75% was the most acceptable due to its relatively high preference and high dietary fiber content.