By-product of prickly pear juice industry: a novel ingredient to improve the physicochemical, texture and sensory properties of cake.

Nowadays, prickly pears are increasingly being processed into juices, and a variety of processed products are offered to consumers. As a consequence, a significant amount of by-product is generated, possessing a large potential for utilization as a source of dietary, and functional fibers. This work aimed to study and compare the effect of the incorporation of red prickly pear by-products (RPPBP) and green prickly pear by-products (GPPBP) from fruit processing as potential ingredients in cakes to promote them as high-value products. The proximate, morphological, and physical characteristics of powders of prickly pear by-products (PPBP) were investigated. The results indicated that the lipid content was approximately 5% for the two prickly pears by-products, and the protein content was between 12.7% and 15.31%. RPPBP and GPPBP are rich in total dietary fiber and exhibited a good water retention capacity (WRC) and oil retention capacity. RPPBP demonstrated better functional properties compared to GPPBP in terms of WRC and swelling capacity, with values of 6.37 g/g and 4.0 ml/g, respectively. In comparison, GPPBP showed a higher least gelation concentration that could enhance texture within products. We investigated the aptitude of RPPBP and GPPBP [1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, and 15% (g/100 g)] to be mixed with wheat flour for cakes preparation through the analysis of the physical characteristics, color, and texture properties of cakes and through sensory evaluation. Compared to the respective control, incorporation of PPBP in wheat cakes increased the cakes' hardness whereas L* and a* color values decreased. Incorporating GPPBP resulted in better acceptability of wheat flour cakes compared to those containing RPPBP. PPBP up to 10% level can successfully be used to obtain delicious and healthy nutritious fiber-enriched cakes. Valorization of prickly pears processing by-product could be a promising step towards a zero-waste in the juice processing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]