ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical and sensory properties of cookie produced from wheat flour and water yam flour enriched with clove powder. The composite flour were fbrmulated as: 100 % wheat flour (sample WNC), 90 % wheat flour : 5 % water yam flour : 5 % cloves powder (sample WYC1), 80 % wheat flour : 15 % water yam flour : 5 % clove powder (sample WYC2), 70 % wheat flour : 25 % water yam flour : 5 % clove powder (sample WYC3), 60 % wheat flour: 35 % water yam flour : 5 % clove powder (sample WYC4), and 50 % wheat flour : 45 % water yam flour : 5 % clove powder (sample WYC5). The cookie samples were prepared using conventional production method to achieve the required thickness and baked in the oven at 185 °C for 20 minutes, cooled and packaged. Cookies produced were analysed for proximate composition, vitamins and sensory properties. The functional properties ofthe blends showed that bulk density, water absorption, oil absorption, and foam capacity increased while swelling index decreased with increased ratio ofincorporation of composite flours to wheat flour. Proximate analysis results showed significant (p<0.05) increase in moisture (5.35 - 7.15 %), protein (10.24- 13.74 %), fat (10.39- 12.07%), fibre (4.12 - 6.70 %) and total ash (4.70 - 6.00 %) while carbohydrate (65.21 - 54.35 %) decreased with inclusion of water yam flour and clove powder. Addition of water yam flour and clove powder to wheat increased the vitamin content of all the resulting cookie samples. The sensory result showed that the sensory scores for appearance, taste, aroma, texture and general acceptability of the cookies decreased with increased inclusion of composite flour to wheat flour. Generally, incorporating clove powder and water yam flour into cookies enhanced the functional, nutritional, and bioactive properties, without a major effect on the sensory acceptability of the developed product. Additionally, water yam and clove powder gave a good flour blend with wheat in cookie production.