ABSTRACT
In the current study, partially defatted coconut flour (PDCF) was prepared using deoiled cake obtained after virgin coconut oil processing. The proximate analysis of PDCF revealed the presence of 5.21% moisture, 14.03% fat, 21.34% protein, 46.39% fiber and 3.27% ash, along with prominent functional properties. Herein, muffins were prepared by incorporation of PDCF as a replacement of refined wheat flour (RWF) at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% flour blend. Significant changes in batter rheology were observed after 25 to 100% replacement of RWF with PDCF, which indicated a decrease in peak viscosity and final viscosity by 65.05 to 83.59% and 61.57 to 85.17% respectively, an increase in specific gravity of batter by 0.857-0.929 g/L. The prepared muffins had significant variations in colour of crust and crumb regions as represented by changes in L*a*b*, Hue angle (h°) and Chroma (C) and textural properties such as hardness, springiness, guminess, cohesiveness, chewiness, and resilience. Incorporation of 50% PDCF significantly (P < 0.05) increased the overall acceptability of the muffins (with a maximum score of 8.5), with a fiber content of 5.53 ± 0.23% and protein content of 7.57 ± 0.30%. Storage stability studies performed at 25 ± 2 °C for seven days revealed an increase in microbial count, and reduction in textural properties but both to be in acceptable regime. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05857-2.
