Physico-chemical and sensory evaluation of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill and Opuntia robusta Wendl) cladode flour in different baked products

Abstract

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica and O. robusta) cladode flour was used to prepare and
evaluate three types of baked products. Data from the physical and chemical analysis were
analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significance of the overall sensory
acceptance measured for each sample was tested by means of ANOVA. After the data was
calculated, the results were represented as a spider plot, where a specific spoke denotes a
specific attribute. Health bread, containing three different types of seeds and whole wheat
flour was prepared. Whole wheat flour was replaced with cactus pear flour in percentages
of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 17% replacement. The volume decreased and the texture became
more solid and firm. The brown colour of the bread darkened when the percentage
replacement of the flour increased, although it was still acceptable to the consumer.
Crunchy oats biscuits were manufactured with increasing replacement levels (0, 5, 10, 20
and 50%) of wheat flour with cactus cladode flour from three different cultivars, Opuntia
ficus-indica (“Skinners Court” and “Morado”) as well as Opuntia robusta (“Monterrey”).
Cultivar had a significant (p < 0.001, 0.0001) effect on color, taste and texture, but not on
appearance. Increasing inclusion levels of cactus pear flour had a significant (p < 0.0001)
effect on all the sensory attributes evaluated. The taste that was most liked by the panel
was that of the Morado 10% inclusion level sample. Cladode flours were found to affect
quality parameters of texture, color and taste of the biscuits. With the increase in the level
of cladode flour in the formulation of a popular South African carrot cake, the sensory scores
for the organoleptic characteristics of the cakes decreased. The control samples (0% cactus
flour) had maximum overall acceptability, whereas cakes containing 75% and 100%
cladode flour were found to be unacceptable to the panellists. From the overall acceptability
rating, it was concluded that cladodes flour could be incorporated up to 25% level in the
formulation of these cakes.