Cameroon: the utilization of mango kernel flour improves the quality of bread
According to two studies, a partial substitution of wheat flour with mango kernel flour enhances the attributes of bread, prolongs its shelf life, mitigates the process of staling, and enhances crumb moisture retention.
The mango varieties known as "Davis Haden" and “Julie" are widely cultivated and consumed in the savannah region of northern Cameroon. Generally, consumers don’t care about the kernels that they throw away. It could be an error.
According to two studies published in the Journal of Food Stability, those mango seeds are valuable. In fact, researchers (nearly the same team—one researcher was absent from the one article) from the Universities of Ngaoundere and Maroua, in the northern part of the country, found that the utilization of mango kernel flour improves the qualities of bread and prolongs its shelf life.
The scientists collected fruits ( Davis Haden and Julie mangoes) when they were at their ripest stage, and removed their pits and skins. The kernel almonds were removed with stainless steel blades and knives and dried and ground into powder. The team used two types of mango kernel flour: a group was defatted while the other part was kept raw.
Their objective was to examine and investigate the physical attributes and storage modes/behaviors of breads made from a combination of wheat and mango Julie / Davis Haden almond flour.
Staling process
The percentages of native and defatted mango kernel flours that were used to substitute wheat flour were 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%.
The researchers employed the French baguette processing method which according to UNESCO, “unlike other loaves … is made with only four ingredients (flour, water, salt and leaven and/or yeast) from which each baker obtains a unique product.”
They found that using local Davis Haden mango almond flour can help decrease bread staling by up to 7.5%, extending its shelf life. Bread staling is a physical and chemical process where the crumb firms, the crust loses its crispness, and the loaf loses its fresh flavor and aroma.
“Breads made with native mango kernel flour have an acceptable limit of time at 48 h for 10% substitution, 72 h for 7.5% substitution, and more than 72 h for all other types of breads,” they noted.
A mango kernel. Photo: Clematis via Wikimedia Commons.
They also discovered that including local Julie mango almond flour can “effectively” slow down the staling process, with the optimal substitution ratio being 5%. “Bread shelf-life, based on crumb firmness criteria, ranged from 24 to 86 hours depending on substitution level and flour treatment,” they highlighted.
Innovative impact
On the other hand, for the two varieties, the team noted that the use of mango almond defatted flour is more likely to exacerbate the process of bread staling.
For them, it is possible that the inactivation of mango kernel amylases during the delipidation process is responsible for the undesirable effects of the defatted flour.
They wrote that because natural mango kernel flour contains saturated fatty acids, it helps establish an oil-water interface that stabilizes gas bubbles during baking, producing a bread with a “finer crumb structure and a larger specific volume”.
They insisted on an essential careful process since exceeding 7.5% substitution negatively impacts bread quality (for Julie for example).
But globally, they celebrated the fact that their findings can help the baking industry in utilizing mango kernel flour as a “functional ingredient”.
“The innovative impact of this research lies in its potential to reduce wheat dependency, valorize mango processing by-products, and develop novel bread formulations with enhanced quality and extended shelf life, contributing to more sustainable and diverse food systems,” the researchers concluded.
Josiane Kouagheu
Banner image: PenScribe via Wikimedia Commons.
