Physico-sensory and Textural Properties of Composite Millet Palm Jaggery Muffins

Composite millet palm jaggery (CMPJ) muffins were prepared by replacing all-purpose flour with composite millet flour at different level (0:100, 50:50, 30:70) and replacing cane sugar completely with palm jaggery. CMPJ muffins and control muffins with cane sugar (APFS) were analyzed for Physico-sensory and textural properties (TPA). Incorporation of millet flour and wheat flour at the ratio 70:30 resulted in an acceptable product with good sponginess which is one of the desirable properties of muffins. The moisture content of muffins prepared with palm jaggery was found to be higher (21.84±0.01%) than muffins prepared with sugar (19.58 ±0.01%). The lightness of the crumb and crust (37.58±0.08, 28.89±0.11) of CMPJ muffins were found to be lesser than control muffins (58.34±0.20, 35.30±0.99), whereas redness of crumb and crust was found more in CMPJ muffins (9.18±0.07, 12.12±0.22) than APFS muffins (6.56±0.15, 10.61 ±0.15) which is due to the brown colour of palm jaggery. The muffins with jaggery had lower pH and sensory score and higher water activity (aw) than muffins with sugar. TPA results showed that CMPJ (6270±7.2 g) were slightly harder than APFS (4729±4.7). Microbial analysis (Total plate count, Yeast and mold count) for CMPJ muffins was found to be safe for consumption upto 12 days without added preservative. It is concluded that CMPJ muffins (without preservative) can be an alternative to APFS without affecting the quality parameters of the product.