Volume 5 • Issue 10 • 1000377 J Food Process Technol ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Open Access Research Article Florence Suma, et al. J Food Process Technol 2014, 5:10 DOI: 10.4172/2157-7110.1000377 *Corresonding author: Florence Suma P, Department of Studies in Food Science and Nutrition,University of Mysore, Mysore – 570006, Karnataka, India, Tel: 9740330523; Fax: 821-2419632; E-mail: forencesuma71@gmail.com Received August 13, 2014; Accepted October 07, 2014; Published October 14, 2014 Citation: Florence Suma P, Urooj A, Asha MR, Rajiv J (2014) Sensory, Physical and Nutritional Qualities of Cookies Prepared from Pearl Millet (Pennisetum Typhoideum). J Food Process Technol 5: 377. doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000377 Copyright: © 2014 Florence Suma P, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Refned wheat four, a key ingredient in cookie is mainly composed of starch which is devoid of nutrients particularly minerals. This study determines the possibility of using two different pearl millet varieties K & MRB (K and Maharashtra Rabi Bajra respectively) as a replacement for refned wheat four in cookie preparation. Cookies were evaluated for proximate composition, textural and sensory characteristics. Proximate composition revealed that pearl millet cookies had higher protein, ash and mineral (iron, calcium & phosphorus) content compared to control. Physical characteristics of cookies showed that the diameter of control, K and MRB cookies did not vary markedly. Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) method adopted to assess the sensory quality of the cookies revealed that cookies with pearl millet had better sensory profle compared to control. They had a combination of desirable and lasting vanilla-like aroma coupled with typical baked millet aroma. In addition, crisp and crumby texture perceived in these cookies further enhanced their sensory appeal making them highly palatable. This study indicates the prospects for utilization of pearl millet four in preparing cookies with enhanced nutritional quality and sensory attributes. Sensory, Physical and Nutritional Qualities of Cookies Prepared from Pearl Millet (Pennisetum Typhoideum) Florence Suma P 1* , Asna Urooj 1 , Asha MR 2 and Jyotsna Rajiv 3 1 Department of Studies in Food Science and Nutrition, University of Mysore, Mysore, India 2 Sensory Science, Central Food and Technology Research Institute, Mysore, India 3 Flour Milling, Baking and Confectionary Technology, Central Food and Technology Research Institute, Mysore, India Keywords: Pearl millet; Cookies; Nutritional quality; Sensory characteristics; Physical properties Introduction Baked products such as cookies are very popular among all age groups, especially with children. Cookies hold a signifcant place in the baking industry due to variety in taste, texture and aroma. Tey are low moisture foods with longer shelf life, generally prepared out of refned wheat four, fat and sugar. Cookies are high fat – food products and obtain texture and favour characteristics from the shortening used. Refned wheat four is a key ingredient for preparing cookies due to its gluten content. However, refned wheat four is a product of refning that contains higher proportion of starch, low dietary fbre and minerals and the resultant cookies are characterised with low proteins, fat and mineral content [1,2]. Terefore to improve its nutritive value, there is a need for replacing refned wheat four with four of better nutritive quality. Pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoideum) is an important coarse cereal crop in western India (Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana). In 2011, 46% of pearl millet produced was used for food, 37.5% for cattle feed, 7.7% for poultry feed, 8.8% for alcohol industry and as low as 0.4% for seed purpose [3]. It has potential for future human use due to its tolerance to difcult growing conditions such as drought, low soil fertility and high temperature and can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as maize (Zea mays) or wheat (Triticum aestivum), would not survive. Pearl millet contains substantial amount of minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc and high level of fat, it is nutritionally comparable and even superior to major cereals due to the energy and protein value [4-6]. Owing to lack of institutional support for millet crops in contrast to the institutional promotion of wheat, rice and maize continue to shrink the millet-growing region. While, pearl millet is nutritious, it is underutilized in developed countries due to non-availability in convenient/ ready to eat form [7,8]. Replacing of wheat four with whole pearl millet four has been researched previously. Cookies produced from 100% pearl millet were described as tough, hard, gritty, and mealy in texture and taste. Tey lacked spread and top surface cracks, which is a desirable attribute of cookies [9]. Presence of high concentration of pigments in the pericarp and endosperm regions of pearl millet resulted in undesirable gray color to its products. Further, improvement was achieved by depigmentation of pearl millet which was efective in improving the sensory attributes, in vitro protein digestibility, invitro starch digestibility, and soluble dietary fber of pearl millet biscuits but also signifcantly decreased protein, starch and insoluble dietary fber [1]. Pigments in pearl millet as a result of bran was successfully reduced by the process of semi refning that resulted in four of some nutritional desirable qualities of both whole and refned four. Semi refning of pearl millet reduced phytate and improved bioaccessibility of minerals like iron and calcium [10]. With this background, an attempt was made to formulate cookies by replacing refned wheat four with semi refned pearl millet four for two varieties namely K & MRB. Materials and Methods Ingredients Two Pearl millet cultivars namely K and MRB were procured for the study. Pearl millet grains were roasted in a pan at 200ºC and ground into whole four. Te whole four was sieved through a 44 mesh sieve (British Standard Sieve, microns - 355) to obtain Semi Refned Flour (SRF). Refned wheat four was procured from local market. Other ingredients like shortening (Marvo brand, Hindustan Lever Ltd, Mumbai, India), Vanilla essence (Bush Boake Allen Ltd, Chennai, India), Skimmed milk powder (Everyday, Nestle, Gurgaon, Haryana) and sugar procured from local market were used in the study. Cookies formulation Te formulation used for pearl millet cookies is presented in Table Journal of Food Processing & Technology J o u r n a l o f F o o d P r o c e s s i n g & T e c h n o l o g y ISSN: 2157-7110