Cricket as an alternative source of protein in the development of nutritious baked chips

Abstract

The practice of eating insects, also known as entomophagy, is not common in Malaysia. Nevertheless, insects are pronounced for their high protein content, dietary fibre, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals like calcium and iron. Next, snacks, especially potato chips available in the market are usually nutrient poor. Thus, the present study aimed to develop baked chips using cricket powder as an alternative source of protein and other minerals to enhance their nutritional values. Cricket powder was incorporated into baked chips with different formulations: control (0%), F1 (5%), F2 (10%), F3 (15%), and F4 (20%) to partially replace tapioca starch. Acceptance test using a 9-point hedonic scale was conducted to determine consumers’ acceptability of the developed baked chips and F2 was reported as the most preferred formulation. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the control and F2 in terms of appearance, aroma, texture, taste, and overall acceptability. In terms of proximate analysis, protein, fat, and ash content of F2 cricket powder baked chips were reported as significantly higher (p<0.05) than control. Besides, F2 cricket powder baked chips can be categorized as high protein food as they contained 15.04 g of protein in 100 g of the final product. In conjunction with greater ash content, both calcium and iron content of F2 cricket powder baked chips were significantly higher (p<0.05) as compared to the control. The calcium and iron content of F2 cricket powder baked chips were reported as 2.76 mg/100 g and 5.27 mg/100 g, respectively. In conclusion, cricket powder baked chips with acceptable organoleptic properties and better nutritional profiles were successfully developed.