PRODUCTION OF BREADSTICKS ENRICHED WITH HAWTHORN FRUIT

Abstract

The common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), is a member of the Rosaceae family that is native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Scientific research has shown that the presence of various bioactive substances such as epicatechin and chlorogenic acid in hawthorn fruit results in strong antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. This study investigated the preparation of hawthorn fruit-enriched breadsticks. The study aimed to produce a healthy snack with health-promoting effects and evaluate its nutritious and antioxidant properties. Breadsticks were prepared by adding different ratios of hawthorn to the dough (5%, 10%, 15%). Proximate (moisture, ash, fat, protein), total phenolic content and sensory analyses were performed. Hawtorn-enriched breadsticks were compared with no hawthorn-added breadsticks. The sensory analysis showed only a color difference between the hawthorn containing different amounts of breadsticks. According to the evaluation of the participants, there was no statistically significant difference in odor, brittleness, flavor and general liking among the breadstick samples (p>0.05). According to the results, as the amount of hawthorn powder increased, the amount of total phenolic substance in the samples increased at a statistically significant level (p<0.05). This shows that the aim of enriching the phenolic content with adding hawthorn was successfully achieved. Further studies will focus on optimizing the recipe to show better sensory qualifications.