Physico-chemical, sensory, and microbiological assessments of wheat-based biscuit improved with beniseed and unripe plantain

The consumption of cereal foods such as biscuit has become very popular globally. Partial replacement of wheat flour with beniseed and unripe plantain flours rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals will increase nutrient, diversify utilization of beniseed and unripe plantain, and increase biscuit variety. Wheat composite biscuit was produced from wheat, beniseed, and unripe plantain flours. The composite flour was mixed in the proportion of 100:0:0, 80:10:10, 70:20:10, 60:30:10, and 50:40:10% of wheat, beniseed, and unripe plantain, respectively. The physical, sensory, chemical, and microbial properties of the biscuits were determined. The physical properties ranged from 6.80 g to 8.30 g for weight, spread ratio 6.93-7.38, and break strength 500-690 g. There was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in taste, crispness, flavor and texture of the biscuits while significant differences (P < 0.05) existed in color and overall acceptability. The proximate composition of the biscuits ranged from 1.84% to 2.55% for moisture, protein 8.03-9.26%, fat 30.07-35.81%, ash 2.94-3.68%, crude fiber 0.47-0.80%, carbohydrate 48.74-55.96%, and energy 526.53-554.21 kcal/100 g. The microbial count of the best biscuit after 20 days of storage was 4.0 × 10(3) cfu/g for bacteria and mould contained 5.0 × 10(4) cfu/g. This study forms a basis for new product development for the biscuit food industry.