The Effect of Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier Alnifolia Nutt.) Addition on the Technological Properties of Wheat Flour and the Quality of Biscuits

Abstract

Nowadays, it is very popular to enrich biscuits with less typical ingredients and thus increase their nutritional value. The aim of this work was to monitor the effect of the addition of lyophilized Saskatoon berries (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) mixed with wheat flour T650 in different proportions on the technological quality of the flour (moisture, ash, falling number, crude protein, wet gluten, acidity) and to compare the chemical (aw, dry matter, crude protein, ash) and sensory parameters (appearance, aroma, taste, consistency, overall perception) of biscuits prepared without and with 5, 10 a 15 % additions of this fruit. With the increased addition of Saskatoon berry to the flour mixture, its moisture content decreased. Compared to the control sample, the ash content increased from 0.59% (control) to 0.87 % (15%) with the addition of fruits, as did the acidity of the flour (p < 0.05). On the contrary, with the increasing proportion of the addition of the powder of this fruit in the mixture with wheat flour, some technological parameters decreased (p < 0.05) (gluten content and its quality, falling numbers). The ash content of the biscuits increased from 0.88 (control) to 1.14 % (15 %), but the crude protein content decreased with increasing Saskatoon berry addition. In biscuits with the addition of this fruit, the value of water activity was significantly reduced from 0.57 (control) to 0.31 (15 %) (p < 0.05). Based on organoleptic evaluation, the replacement of up to 10 % and 15 % of wheat flour with Saskatoon berry powder improved the sensory properties (appearance and taste) of the prepared biscuits compared to control wheat biscuits. We can recommend this non-traditional fruit for application in the production of biscuits (adding 10 and 15 %), for its color and nutritional composition it can increase biscuits attractiveness and become a perspective when designing new products.

Effect of Plant Extracts Addition on the Physico-Chemical and Sensory Properties of Biscuits

“…Similarly, Mehta et al [27] reported an increase in moisture content in samples enriched with tomato pomace, which can be explained by the fact that powdered cranberry and blueberry extracts may have greater water holding capacity than wheat flour. Similarly, Kolesárová et al [28] reported a significant increase in moisture content with the addition of 5 and 15% of Saskatoon berry in biscuit composition. The enrichment of biscuits with blueberry and cranberry powder also had an impact on the acidity and pH values of biscuits, where significant differences were recorded.…”

“…Increasing the concentration of blueberry powder resulted in increasing the acceptability of consumers for all the attributes, especially taste and mouthfeel. Similarly, Kolesárová et al [28] reported a significant increase on taste scores of biscuits enriched with 10 and 15% of Saskatoon berries. Contrary to this, another study has shown that there were no significant differences in aroma, taste, color, and overall acceptability of cookies with 10 and 20% red beetroot powder from the control samples [35].…”

“…Based on our results, biscuits containing a higher amount of blueberry powder had better sensory properties including taste, mouthfeel, and texture. Similarly, Kolesárová et al [28] reported that with higher addition of Saskatoon berry powder instead of flour the sensory properties of the biscuits were highly improved.…”

Anatomical Structures of Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier Medik.)Leaves Under Different Cultivation Conditions

“…The plant form of this genus is a deciduous shrub or a small tree growing in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Saskatoon berry fruits are characterized by a higher content of flavonoids (Mazza, 1982;Zatylny and St-Pierre 2003;Laksaeva and Sychev, 2013;Donno et al, 2016;Szpadzik and Krupa, 2021;Asyakina et al, 2022;Kolesárová, 2022), which allows them to be attributed to nutraceuticals that help reduce the risk of certain diseases in humans (WHO, 2023). This tree is cultivated on an industrial scale in certain regions of Canada and the USA (Template Business Plan for Manitoba Saskatoon Berry Producers, 2023;Saskatoon Berry Council of Canada, 2023).…”