Formulação e caracterização da pasta de grão de bico adicionada de amêndoa de castanha de caju

Abstract

Chickpea butter added cashew nut almonds is a plant-based product that seeks to meet the demands of a consumer market that demands plant-based formulations with functional characteristics, free of additives and preservatives, thus including a larger audience of consumers. Chickpeas are a large-scale legume worldwide and have been gaining space in the Brazilian market mainly due to their nutritional characteristics. Cashew nut almonds are a raw material of social and economic importance, mainly produced in the northeastern region of Brazil, being appreciated for their flavor, in addition to being rich in nutrients. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop vegetable butter formulations containing different proportions of chickpeas and cashew nuts. Four formulations were developed, which were subjected to evaluation of physicochemical characteristics (moisture, acidity, lipids, proteins, ash, and pH), color (L*, a*, b*, C*, h), and microbiological analysis. The formulations of chickpea butter added with cashew nut almonds showed high moisture. F2 (nut:chickpea/2:3) presented lower moisture, higher protein (12.2%) and ash content (1.73%), and lower lipid content (2.33%). The pH values found were close to neutrality (ranging from 5.84 to 6.12). The values found in the literature for total soluble solids (7° Brix and 1.53 to 11.67° Brix) differ from those recorded for chickpea butter added cashew nut almonds (0.67 to 0.87° Brix), which may indicate a possible reading error during the analysis. The water activity of this product is high, with values above 0.9, which may be associated with the pre-preparation stage of the chickpeas (immersion and cooking). Formulation F1 (nut:chickpea/ 1:3) had an acidity value, showing a significant difference from the other samples. In the color analysis, the coordinates a* and b* presented positive values, indicating a tendency towards yellow and red coloration, with higher values of b* (yellow). With light coloring, positive luminosity values (L*). Escherichia coli counts were lower than 10 CFU.g-1 and Salmonella was not found in any of the samples analyzed. For molds and yeasts, the samples showed results ranging from 4×102 to 5.9×103 CFU.g-1, being within the limits for this food. Therefore, the elaboration of the Brazilian hommus was possible, with greater emphasis on the F2 (nut:chickpea/2:3) formulation, which presented a greater amount of proteins and nutritional value.