Proximate Composition and Consumer Acceptability of Cookies Produced from Water Lily (Nymphaea lotus), Coconut (Cocos nucifera) and Wheat Flour (Triticum aestivum) Flour Composites

The use of wheat flour as a primary ingredient in baked products in tropical countries imposes huge financial strain on local economies, in that governments spend high currency to import wheat into the country due to the fact that it cannot be cultivated locally. The aim of the study was to evaluate the proximate composition and consumer acceptability of biscuits produced from a blend of wheat, water lily and coconut flour. Five different biscuit products were prepared from a composite of wheat, water lily and dried coconut flesh flours using traditional rubbing in method with little modification. The proximate composition of the biscuits was determined using AOAC official methods. Sensory quality characteristics of the biscuits were evaluated by a panel of 50 untrained consumers under the ‘hedonic scale’ measure of 1-9 score points. The data was entered into Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) version 20. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was carried out to establish effect of partial replacement of the wheat flour with the water lily and/ or dried coconut flesh at 95% confidence interval. The results of proximate composition of the various flour indicated increasing level of protein (g/100 g) , fat (g/100 g) and crude fibre (g/100 g) were 4.41 ± 0.22 to 16.73 ± 0.76, 6.47 ± 0.16 to 19.16 ± 0.16 and 12.54 ± 0.07 to 13.52 ± 0.04, respectively while there was decrease in levels of moisture (g/100 g), ash (g/100 g) and carbohydrate (g/100 g) as the proportion of the composite flour increased; 7.91 ± 0.03 to 10.30 ± 0.21, 0.90 ± 0.10to 4.28 ± 0.24 and 40.89 ± 1.22 to 61.99 ± 0.35, respectively. Sensory evaluation of the biscuits showed a significant difference (p<0.05) among the products. Biscuit sample XYZ (80% wheat, 12% water lily and 8% coconut) was preferred in terms of the overall acceptability.