Food & Nutrition

Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
21. Utilization of Carob Powder as a Substitute for Cocoa Powder in Some Food
Products (1996)
Hana’a Mohammed Ali AL-Ghizawi\ University of Jordan
Supervisor: Dr. Ali Kamel AL-Sa’ed
The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of utilizing roasted carob as
a partial or total replacer for cocoa powder in some food products. Also to study the
acceptability as well as the physical and chemical characteristics of the prepared
products.
Measurements of weight, length, width and thickness of carob pods were 31.84
g, 123.38 mm, 19.53 mm and 9.33 mm respectively. The seeds make up 20% of the
whole pod weight, whereas the pulp to kernel ratio was 4:5.
Roasting process of kibbled and whole pods at different time temperature
combinations produced carob with different colors and flavors. Roasting kibbled carob
at 150°C for 60 minutes was preferred by the sensory panel.
The chemical composition of roasted carob were: moisture, 9.027%; crude
protein, 5.82%; crude fat, 0.74; ash, 2.84%; crude fiber, 7.24%; NFE, 74.7%; tannin,
3,75%; and total sugars 38.7%. The pH value of roasted carob powder was 4.81. On
the other hand, the physical characteristics were: water activity, 0.33; particle size, 150
m; and absorbency of the clear roasted carob extract at 360 nm, 0.851.
Roasting and sieving affected the chemical composition of carob. Total sugars,
moisture, crude fiber and protein decreased whereas tannin increased.
Sensory analysis results showed that incorporation of roasted carob powder in
ice-cream, cake, peanut based spreads and candy bars gave products that differs in
color and flavor from control products where cocoa powder was incorporated. On the
other hand incorporation of roasted carob powder resulted in a marked improvement of
the sensory properties of the prepared ice-cream, whereas cake and candy bars were
moderately accepted, on the other hand such incorporation decreased the sensory
properties of the prepared peanut based spreads.
Proximate analysis showed that utilization of roasted carob powder in formulated
products did not affect significantly their composition except in raising the crude fiber
content.
It was noticed that addition of roasted carob affected inversely the overrun of ice
cream and textural properties of cake. Also storability test did not show marked
differences among different types of cake, ice cream and candy bars.
29
Volume 11, No. 25, 2011
31