Characterization of Unripe Horn Banana (Musa Paradisiaca) Flour and Its Development Into Chocolate Chip Blondies

Lim, Wei Hao (2024) Characterization of Unripe Horn Banana (Musa Paradisiaca) Flour and Its Development Into Chocolate Chip Blondies. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

This research investigates the use of unripe Horn banana, a local Malaysian banana variety, to process into unripe Horn banana flour and incorporate into blondies (Prototype A), while blondies made with wheat flour served as the control sample for comparison. The aims of the project (i) To characterize the proximate composition, physical and functional properties of prototype A (ii) To develop prototype A for improved nutritional value, sensory attributes, and gluten-free properties. (iii) To compare the acceptability of prototype A with control sample. Both blondies were analyzed for physical, functional, microbiological properties, proximate composition and sensory attributes. For physical properties, prototype A shows significant differences (p<0.05) in color parameters and hardness, gumminess and chewiness compared to the control blondies. Moreover, prototype A has a significantly higher moisture, ash and crude fiber content but a significantly lower for crude fat, crude protein content and energy value. Prototype A also showed significantly higher amylose content (1.52 ± 0.16%) compared to control (0.48 ± 0.16%), indicating a slightly higher starch content, but overall remained relatively low. The hedonic test revealed a significant difference (p<0.05) in aroma scores where prototype A (7.82 ± 0.98) scored higher than control (7.38 ± 0.99). Besides, the developed unripe Horn banana flour had low water activity (0.527 ± 0.006) and moisture content (10.15 ± 0.00%) that may inhibit microbial growth. The total plate count analysis confirmed the microbiological safety of the blondies with an estimated colony count of (5.00 x 101 cfu/g). This study demonstrates the potential of unripe Horn banana flour as a nutritious ingredient for gluten-free blondies with improved sensory characteristics.