Cereal bar enriched with cowpea bean whole flour, cashew nut, and raisin banana

ABSTRACT This work aimed to elaborate a cereal bar with whole cowpea flour, cashew nuts and bananas raisin and evaluate their acceptance and chemical composition. Three formulations were developed, B1 with 5.25% cowpea, B2 7.5% and B3 with 15%. Sensory attributes were assessed by 10 trained tasters using a hedonic scale. Two formulations were analyzed by 100 untrained tasters using the multiple comparison, paired comparison and purchase intention tests. The humidity was determined by drying in an oven and the ashes after calcination of the samples in a muffle furnace. The protein content was obtained by the Macro-Kjeldahl method and the lipid content by hot extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus. Carbohydrates were determined by difference and minerals by the technique of atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma source. After testing with the trained team, it was observed that the B3 bar received the lowest average in relation to flavor. With untrained tasters, it was found that bars B1 and B2 are commercially viable and showed no difference in the paired comparison. The increase in cowpea promoted an increase in the levels of ash, lipids and proteins. Bar B2 showed the highest content of ash, lipids and proteins and the lowest amount of carbohydrates and moisture. The bars presented themselves as sources of iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc and with a high content of copper and manganese. It is concluded that the elaborated cereal bar contains high nutrients content and has sensory viability.