Some Functional, Physico-Chemical and Sensory Properties of Arrowroot Flour and Chiffon Cake Products

Flours from three arrowroot (Maranta arundinaceae L.) accessions (PRM 2, PRM 19, PRM 23) were prepared and baked into chiffon cakes with wheat cake flour as the control in order to determine functional properties and sensory attributes of the resulting products. The three arrowroot flours were high in water absorption, viscosity, amylose and fiber contents while their fat absorption was almost similar to that of the wheat cake flour. The general acceptability scores of chiffon cakes from arrowroot flours (PRM 2, PRM 19) were 6.19 and 6.55, respectively, which fell between "like slightly" and "like moderately" in the Hedonic scale. Though significantly different, the acceptability ratings of chiffon cakes from arrowroot flours tended to be near the acceptability value of wheat cake flour. This means that arrowroot flour can be used as new material in cake making especially if color of the flour is improved.