Physicochemical and Sensory Evaluation of Cookies Produced by Partial Substitution of Margarine with Avocado (Persia americana) Pulp

The production and determination of the nutritional properties of cookies produced by partial substitution of margarine with avocado pear pulp was studied. Well cleaned avocado pear was blended into paste and used to substitute margarine in the prepared cookies. The ratio of avocado pear pulp substituted was 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. The substituted products and the control (100% margarine) were subjected to physicochemical and sensory evaluation. The results of the proximate analysis showed that the protein content ranged from 6.93% -7.83% with sample A having the highest protein content and fat content. Moisture content and ash content of samples were seen to be higher in sample E (50:50 ratio). Sample A had the least value of moisture, ash and crude fibre with moisture content of 11.13%, ash content of 1.40% and crude fibre value of 0.29%, while sample E  recorded the least value of crude fat  (16.00%). The carbohydrate content was recorded to be higher in sample C. The physical properties showed that cookies made with higher avocado pear pulp had less thickness compared to the control cookies. The sensory evaluation results showed that sample A had the highest values of 8.05%, 7.85% and 7.95% for appearance, taste and aroma respectively while sample E (50:50 ratio) had the least values in crunchiness, taste and aroma. The overall acceptability of the results showed that sample A recorded the highest value but not significantly different (p<0.05) from sample B (80:20 margarine avocado). The research concluded that the partial substitution of avocado improved the nutritional value of the cookies by lowering the saturated fat content.