Peanut butter incorporation as substitute for shortening in biscuits: Composition and acceptability studies

The present study was designed to evaluate the composition and acceptability of biscuits prepared by partially replacing hydrogenated vegetable shortening with peanut butter to reduce the fats and enhance the nutritional value. For this objective five different treatments of biscuits were prepared from peanut (Arachis hypogaea) butter and hydrogenated vegetable shortening (Banaspati) i.e. T1(0:100) T2(10:90) T3(20:80) T4(30:70) T5(40:60). T1 (without peanut butter) was kept as control. Physiochemical studies showed that peanut butter incorporation in biscuits increased moisture content, crude fiber and crude protein content, while Crude fat and Nitrogen free extract (NFE) decreased significantly with the incorporation of peanut butter. Sensory studies showed that biscuits prepared with peanut butter had relatively harder texture and darker color than control. However, peanut butter gave palatable flavor and taste to biscuits. The treatment with peanut butter and hydrogenated vegetable shortening (40:60) was the most preferred of all the samples.