Development of a hull-less pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oil press-cake spread.
A stable, oil-based spread rich in the omega-3 (ω-3) and omega-6 (ω-6) fatty acids was developed using a hull-less pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo L.) oil press-cake, a by-product of the pumpkin oil pressing process, along with cold-pressed hemp oil. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to investigate the effects of two factors, as the formulation's compositional variables: a commercial stabilizer (X(1) ) and cold-pressed hemp oil (X(2) ) added to the pumpkin seed oil press-cake in the spread formulations. A central composite, 2-factorial experimental design on 5 levels was used to optimize the spreads where model responses were ω-3 fatty acids content, spreadability (hardness), oil separation, and sensory evaluation. The selected responses were significantly affected by both variables (P < 0.05). The spreads resembled commercial peanut butter, both in appearance, texture and spreadability; were a source of ω-3 fatty acids and with no visual oil separation after 1 mo of storage. An optimum spread was produced using 1.25% (w/w) of stabilizer and 80% of hemp oil (w/w, of the total added oil) which had 0.97 g of ω-3 fatty acids per serving size; penetration depth of 68.4 mm; oil separation of 9.2% after 3 mo of storage; and a sensory score of 17.5.


CONCLUSIONS
A use of by-products generated from different food processing technologies, where the edible waste is successfully incorporated as a value-added ingredient, has become a very important area of research to support global sustainability efforts. This study contributes to the knowledge of a product design process for oil-based spread development, where oil press-cake, a by-product of the oil pressing process of the naked pumpkin seeds, was used and where results have demonstrated that a new product can be successfully developed and potentially manufactured as a functional food.
Faculty of Technology, Univ. of Novi Sad, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia. dr.olga_radocaj@rogers.com
Olga
O
Radočaj
Etelka
E
Dimić
Vesna
V
Vujasinović
D002188:Cannabis / Q000737:chemistry; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D028464:Cucurbita / Q000737:chemistry*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000032:analysis*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013649:Taste
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D010938:Plant Oils