The Effect of Fat Type on the Acceptability of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Transcription

1 Tamar Karabian FND 310- Summer 2015 Recipe Modification Project The Effect of Fat Type on the Acceptability of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Introduction and Justification The obesity epidemic in the United States does not appear to be improving. In fact, recent studies show that the prevalence of obesity among men and women either increased or stayed the same among all age and race groups. 1 The influ of highly processed foods, increasing time constraints, and an increase in dollars spent on advertising unhealthy foods have all contributed to this epidemic. Although sugar and calories in general play an important role in the increases in obesity, dietary fat is also very important and deserves special consideration. An ecess of dietary fat contributes to many negative health outcomes, including obesity and coronary heart disease. A lesser mentioned impact is the effect that ecess dietary fat can have on bone mineral density. A study reviewing NHANES data showed that bone mineral density was negatively associated with saturated fat intake, particularly in men. In other words, as saturated fat intake increased, bone mineral density decreased. 2 There has also been much research conducted about different types of fats and their impact on health. Studies have shown that consumption of saturated fatty acids contributed to coronary events whereas intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids did not. 3,4 This difference can be attributed to the fact that saturated fats, such as butter, contribute to low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol, while unsaturated fatty acids contribute to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol. 5 Despite its detrimental effects, most baked goods require a certain amount of fat. Fat in baked goods contributes to flavor, volume, structure, flakiness, color, and resistance to staling. Fat also acts as a tenderizer and plays a role in heat transfer. 6 In addition, most of the aeration of cookie dough is due to air trapped in fat. And finally, fat lubricates other ingredients in cookie dough which reduces the abrasive effect that sugar and flour might have on those ingredients. 7 Given its potentially negative impact on health and its importance in baked goods, this eperiment will test the acceptability of using healthier fats to make oatmeal raisin cookies. A recipe which calls for a ½ cup of butter will be modified in three ways, by substituting half the butter with the same amount of avocado puree and cannellini bean puree, and substituting canola oil for half the butter at a ratio of 1:.75. These substitutions will then be evaluated for flavor, appearance, and acceptability. 8,9 This eperiment will also evaluate the impact that these substitutions have on the density of the cookies, if any. Methods and Materials Recipe and Directions In a stand electric mier fitted with the paddle attachment, the butter (or butter plus butter substitute), brown sugar, egg and vanilla were creamed until smooth. In a separate bowl, the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt were whisked together. The dry ingredients were mied into the wet and stirred just until combined. Lastly, the oats and raisins were folded into the dough with a spatula, and the dough chilled for two hours in the refrigerator.

2 Net, the oven was pre-heated to 350 F and each baking sheet was lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. A scoop and electric food scale were used to measure a one ounce portion for each cookie, and the cookies were placed two inches apart on the tray. Each tray was they baked for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges were golden but the top still appeared a bit undercooked. Lastly, the cookies were left to sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before they were transferred to a rack to cool. Control 1/2 cup butter, softened 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla etract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. table salt 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup raisins Avocado substitution 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup avocado puree (pureed then measured) 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla etract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. table salt 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup raisins Cannellini bean substitution 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup cannellini bean puree (pureed then measured) 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla etract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. table salt 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup raisins Canola oil Substitution 1/4 cup butter, softened 3 Tbsp. canola oil 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla etract 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. table salt 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 3/4 cup raisins Subjective and Objective Evaluation For the subjective evaluation, an affective test was selected. More specifically, a hedonic assessment for each cookie modification was completed. Each cookie was rated for its appearance, odor, taste and teture on a scale of like etremely (9) to dislike etremely (1). The total was then calculated for each cookie. The results for this test will be detailed in the Results section, and the actual scoring sheets can be found in Appendi 1. For the objective evaluation, the density of each cookie was measured to assess whether the type of fat or fat substitute used impacted the density of the cookie. Density is Mass/Volume. An electric food scale was used to determine the mass and the water displacement method was used to determine the volume of each cookie. First, four pieces of plastic wrap were measured to prevent eperimental error. Net, each pieces of plastic was wrapped around one cookie. A cup of water was measured into a two cup glass measure, and each cookie was gently dropped into the water and the new volume recorded. The difference between the before and after measurement is the volume of the cookie in cups, which was then converted to liters. Before testing the volume, and after wrapping the cookie in plastic wrap, an electric food scale was to record the weight in grams of each cookie. This data can be found in Appendi 2. Nutrient Analysis The USDA Agricultural Research Service National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27 was used to complete a nutrient analysis. 10

3 Original Recipe Original Recipe Modified Recipe Version #1 (Avocado) Modified Recipe Version #2 (Cannellini Beans) Modified Recipe Version #3 (Canola Oil) Serving size 2 cookies 2 cookies 2 cookies 2 cookies Calories (kcal): Protein (grams): Carbohydrate (grams): Fat (grams): Saturated fat (grams): Trans fat (grams): Polyunsaturated fat (grams): Monounsaturated fat (grams): Sodium (mg): Results Overall, the eperiment showed that replacing half the butter with avocado puree, cannellini bean puree, or canola oil when making oatmeal raisin cookies are all viable options. Although canola oil decreases the total, saturated, trans, and monounsaturated fat, it did not decrease the calories and the resulting cookies had a drier teture. However, both the avocado and cannellini bean purees resulted in reductions in total fat and calories, and retained the moisture of the original cookie. Figure 1 shows the four finished Figure 1 cookie dough modifications. Although the avocado modification had a slightly green tint to it, the four recipes did not appear different otherwise. Figure 2 shows the differences in the final baked products. It is clear and the canola oil cookie spread the most, the all butter control was net, and last were the cannellini bean and avocado modifications, which most closely retained the shape of the cookie dough scoop that was used to portion the cookies. Figures 3 and 4 show a similar result to Figure 2, but also show the inside of the cookies. The avocado and cannellini bean modifications have more tunnels in the finished cookie and have retained more height than both the control and canola oil cookies, likely because the avocado and cannellini resulted in a thicker batter than the canola oil and butter recipes. Figure 2

4 Figure 3 The results of the affective sensory evaluation fell in line with the nutrient analysis of the three modifications. A 9-point Hedonic Scale was used, rating from like etremely to dislike etremely, to assess appearance, odor, taste, and teture. The original recipe using all butter scored the highest at 34; however, the avocado and cannellini bean modifications also scored well, 32 and 31 respectively. The canola oil cookie scored lowest at 29. The scoring sheets can be found in Appendi 1. For the objective evaluation, the density of each cookie was assessed to determine if the different ingredients had a large impact. The control cookie was the least dense, at.47 g/ml, the canola oil modification was net at.67 g/ml, and the avocado and cannellini modifications both measured.97 g/ml and were therefore the densest. Although these values are different, the differences are not large. Data for the density calculations can be found in Appendi 2. Figure 4 Discussion Fat is important in baking because it adds to the flavor, volume, structure, flakiness and color of the food item, while also delaying the staling process. 6 In addition, fat lubricates other ingredients in cookie dough, which reduces the abrasive effect that sugar and flour might have on those ingredients. 7 Fat is essential to life, so it cannot be entirely eradicated from the diet. However, certain fats, such as poly- and monounsaturated fats, are better for our health than trans and saturated fats. 3,4 Given the importance of fat in baking and in our diets, the goal of this eperiment was to find a way to retain the flavor of a cookie while reducing the bad fats. Therefore, half the butter in an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe was replaced with three different ingredients and assessments were conducted to test whether or not the cookie remained palatable and pleasing to the eye. The results show that reducing the bad fat in the recipe by half did not reduce the acceptability of the cookies. Although the canola oil cookie was a bit drier than the others given the lack of water in oil compared to butter, avocado, or cannellini beans, it was still a more than acceptable cookie. The eperiment was successful in reducing the trans and saturated fat in the cookies, however some harmful fat still remained because only half the butter was replaced. Future eperiments should aim to replace more, and perhaps all, of the butter to further improve the health of the cookies and to assess the palatability as the fat is further reduced in the recipe. The results of the subjective assessment were very positive, such that the healthier versions of the cookie remained palatable compared to the control. Given the importance of fat in baking, and the fact that only half of the fat was replaced, this result was not entirely surprising. 6,7 The results of the objective density assessment, however, were slightly different than what was epected. Oil has a lower density than water, and therefore will float on the

5 surface. Therefore, the epectation was that the canola oil cookie would have the lowest density, followed by the butter and then the avocado and cannellini bean cookies. This discrepancy could possibly be due to eperimental error. Although the pieces of plastic wrap were measured, perhaps the precision of the electric food scale used during this eperiment was lacking, and the slight differences in weight that were undetectable by the food scale resulted in the unepected density results. In addition, it is likely that each cookie had a different amount of raisins in it, which would also impact the density. Further eperiments should use a more sensitive food scale and perhaps count the number of raisins in each cookie before baking to ensure an accurate result. Conclusion This eperiment showed that there are many ways to reduce the harmful fats in a cookie while still retaining the general acceptability of the cookie. A 9-point Hedonic assessment was used to test the appearance, odor, taste and teture of each cookie, and although the control cookie scored the highest, the other three cookies were not far behind. Additionally, the results of the density test, although somewhat unepected, showed that each cookie was not much different than the others. Further eperiments should assess the acceptability of other healthy substitutions as well as the acceptability of a cookie if more than half of the fat is replaced. However, over-all, this eperiment showed that it is possible to reduce the amount of detrimental fat to improve the healthfulness of a cookie while also retaining enough fat to ensure that it can perform its necessary functions in baked goods. 3,4,6,7 Obesity is a rampant problem in the United States and has many comorbidities, and given that many people have a taste for sweet items, the results of this study are important and can be used as one tool in the fight to reduce obesity. 1,2

6 References 1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kit BK, et al. Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass inde among US adults, JAMA. 2012;307(5): Corwin RL, Hartman TJ, Maczuga SA, et al. Dietary saturated fat intake is inversely associated with bone density in humans: analysis of NHANES III. J Nutr. 2006;136: Jakobsen MU, O Reilly EJ, Heitmann BL, et al. Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89: Mozaffarian D, Micha R, and Wallace S. Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturdated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLOS Med. 2010;7(3): Know your fats. American Heart Association Web site. holesterol/know-your-fats_ucm_305628_article.jsp. Published April 29, Accessed June 29, Brown A. Understanding Food Principles and Preparation. 5 th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage, Rogers D. Functions of fats and oils in bakery products. Food Technol-Chicago. 2004;15(9): Wekwete B and Navder K. Effects of avocado fruit puree and oatrim as fat replacers on the physical, tetural and sensory properties of oatmeal cookies. J Food Quality. 2008;31: Rankin LL and Bingham M. Acceptability of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies prepared using pureed white beans as a fat ingredient substitute. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100(7): United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 27. USDA Web site. Published December 7, Accessed July 1, 2015.

7 Appendi 1. Hedonic Scales Control Food description Neither nor Appearance Odor Taste Teture Total Final Total Avocado Food description Neither nor Appearance Odor Taste Teture Total Final Total Cannellini Beans Food description Neither nor Appearance Odor Taste Teture X Total Final Total Canola Oil Food description Neither nor Appearance Odor Taste Teture Total Final Total

8 Appendi 2. Density test Mass (grams) Volume (ml) Density (mass/volume; g/ml) Control Avocado modification Cannellini Bean modification Canola Oil modification