Cricket (Acheta domesticus) protein hydrolysates’ impact on the physicochemical, structural and sensory properties of tortillas and tortilla chips

Abstract

Consumer interest towards consumption of more sustainable protein sources has led way towards the adoption of insect protein for human food applications. Research shows that insect proteins utilised as food ingredients are more promising to be accepted by Westerners. In this study, cricket protein hydrolysates (CPH) were produced using Alcalase (AL) and Flavourzyme (FL) proteases. The physicochemical and structural properties, as well as the sensory acceptability of corn tortillas formulated with 20% (w/w) CPH were evaluated. CPH-tortillas contained all essential amino acids, including 40% of the daily lysine requirement. In raw corn masa (dough), AL-CPH increased the elastic modulus (G’), indicating cross-linking between polymers, while FL-CPH decreased G’. Tortillas formulated with AL-CPH resulted in matrices with low hardness and extensibility values, while FL-CPH tortillas developed a strong and flexible structure, indicating differences in intermolecular interactions between the AL- and FL-CPH and the tortilla matrix in the cooked tortillas compared to the raw masa. Sensory evaluation results showed acceptability (scores>6.0) towards tortillas chips formulated with 20% CPH. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cricket protein can create peptides with functional characteristics and sensory acceptability for their use as ingredients in food formulation.