TAPIOCA AND RICE FLOUR COOKIES: TECHNOLOGICAL, NUTRITIONAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES

ABSTRACTTapioca flour is derived from the starch extracted from manioc and is a widely used food product in Brazil. Rice flour is produced from grains of rice and is used in the production of bread, porridge, cakes and cookies, which are recommended for people with celiac disease. The goal of this work was to add value to the aforementioned products by developing cookies based on tapioca and rice flours. Five formulations were prepared: A 100:0, B 75:25, C 50:50, D 25:75 and E 0:100 to tapioca and rice flour respectively, with the addition of brown sugar, and analyses its technological, nutritional and sensory properties. The following physical, physicochemical and nutritional properties were analyzed: dough texture profile, cookie weight, diameter and volume, acidity, water activity, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, dietary fiber, ash content and moisture. A sensory evaluation was held using an affective test with 90 judges and a structured nine-point hedonic scale ranging from 'like extremely' to 'dislike extremely' for the attributes scent, color, texture, taste and overall impression in addition to purchase intent. The results indicate that cookies made of tapioca and rice flours with the addition of brown sugar have technological, physicochemical and nutritional profiles within legal standards; however, the fiber contents were below recommendations. The sensory evaluation showed good acceptance of the cookies, with average scores above 7.0. This study is part of an attempt to raise further discussions regarding the production of new low-cost bakery products that are nutritionally enriched, viable and easily accessible to all, including to people with celiac disease