Formulation and Proximate Composition of Chips Produced from Ackee Aril-Wheat Flour Composites.

• Main Authors: Joycelyn Anima Osei, Owusu Kyeremateng, Martha Wunnam Alhassan, Jacob Agbenorhevi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Africa Development and Resources Research Institute (ADRRI) 2016-05-01
• Series: Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences
• Online Access: https://journals.adrri.org/index.php/adrrijafs/article/view/245

Ackee aril (Blighiasapida) is an underutilized, multipurpose fruit tree species native to West Africa. The fleshy arils of the ripened fruits are edible while the seeds and capsules of the fruits are used for soap making. The utilization of this fruit will contribute tremendously to reducing, if not eliminating the food insecurity in West Africa. The aim of the present study was to assess the potential of ackee aril as a partial replacement to traditional wheat in baked products. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the proximate composition of the ackee aril-wheat flour composites and to assess the suitability and acceptability of ackee aril composite chips at different levels of ackee aril flour substitution. Four composites or blends of chips were prepared in the proportions: 80:20, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60 and wheat were used as control. The flour blends were used to bake chips after which the proximate composition and sensory attributes of the chips were examined. Results of proximate analysis showed significant increase (p≤0.05) in protein (10.2 – 16.9%), fat (2.1 – 20.2%) and fibre (0.5 – 3.7%) contents and significant decrease in carbohydrate (72.3 – 48.1%) contents with increase in ackee aril flour. There was no significant difference in the ash content of the test samples. Sensory evaluation results showed that all chips samples had high rating for all evaluated attributes. The closeness of values obtained for all chips samples to the control sample indicate a high level of acceptance of the WF-AF chips.