Dados do Trabalho

Título

FRESH ORA-PRO-NÓBIS LEAVES AS SUBSTITUTES FOR EGGS IN VEGAN COCOA CAKES: FORMULATIONS AND COST ANALYSIS

Introdução

The healthy lifestyle market, vegan and vegetarian consumers, or those with lactose intolerance, allergy to milk protein, eggs, or gluten, have been driving research and development of formulations that meet nutritional needs, promoting the biodiversity rescue of Non-Conventional Food Plants in Brazil.

Material e Métodos

Thus, the objectives of this work were: (1) develop two formulations of vegan cocoa cakes with the addition of fresh ora-pro-nóbis leaves (FOPN) as eggs replacer: F1 (350mL of water, 120g of sugar, 100g of FOPN, 100mL of oil, 250g of wheat flour, 50g of cocoa powder, 15g of baking powder, and 1 pinch of salt) and F2 (150mL of water, 120g of sugar, 100g of FOPN, 100mL of oil, 85g of rice flour, 70g of oats flour, 55g of cassava starch, 50g of cocoa powder, 15g of baking powder, and 1 pinch of salt), and (2) carry out cost analysis of the ingredients of the vegan formulations and compare to the traditional formulation (FT).

Resultados e Discussão

The physical-sensory characteristics, such as appearance, texture, and softness, in the vegan cakes developed could be perceived as very similar to those of traditional cocoa cake. In these formulations, a common ingredient in cakes, eggs, was not added, which presents an emulsifying effect and provides creaminess, softness, and moisture to the batter. In this sense, the addition of FOPN performed these functions, as it contains soluble fibers known as mucilage (complex polysaccharides, mainly arabinogalactan), with a high water absorption capacity (hydrocolloid) which, when present in cakes, replaces emulsifiers of animal origin. Compared to FT, the cost analysis indicated that F1 ingredients are 27.56% more accessible, and the gluten-free formulation presented equivalent costs to FT.

Conclusão

Therefore, the addition of FOPN is an alternative for the nutritional enrichment of cakes, mainly in dietary fiber, protein, and iron, as well as a potential substitute for eggs, meaning that these products can be consumed by groups with dietary restrictions (vegans, lactose intolerant, allergic to either egg or milk proteins, or gluten) at low cost.