Background
High cholesterol levels are of concern because they have been linked with heart disease, stroke, bile imbalance, leading to gallstones, and blood flow interferences. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect that waffle batter content (egg versus banana puree) has on physical and sensory characteristics and acceptability of waffles.
Methods
After IRB approval, twenty college-aged students, 19 and older, were recruited to test two different samples. The control waffle recipe and the second was the same waffle recipe with banana puree substituted for eggs. Samples were tested subjectively using a Hedonic scale (1-9) and triangle test. Objective testing included the cook time, line spread test, volumeter, vernier calipers, Nutritionist Pro analysis and the TA.XT Plus texture analyzer. Statistical tests included mean, median, mode and t - tests with an alpha value of 0.05.
Results
Subjective testing revealed little difference in the acceptability of the two waffles. Nutritional analysis using the Nutritionist Pro system showed that that the waffle made with banana was lower in cholesterol and lower in fat. Objective testing revealed that the banana waffle had batter that was less viscous, larger in volume, firmer, and did not rise as high as the control.
Conclusions
This research shows that the egg content of waffles can be successfully be replaced with banana puree. The effects of such alterations has little to no effect on overall palatability or likeability of the waffle, but it would lower the cholesterol content of the waffle and be more affordable.
