Chemistry and Sensory Characterization of a BakeryProduct Prepared with Oils from AfricanEdible Insects

Abstract

Globally, there is growing interest to integrate insect-derived ingredients into food products.Knowledge of consumer perception to these food products is growing rapidly in the literature,but similar knowledge on the use of oils from African edible insects remains to be established. In thisstudy, we (1) compared the chemistry of the oils from two commonly consumed grasshoppers,the desert locustSchistocerca gregariaand the African bush-cricketRuspolia differenswith those ofolive and sesame oils; (2) compared the proximate composition of a baked product (cookie) preparedfrom the oils; (3) identified the potential volatiles and fatty acids contributing to the aroma andtaste; and (4) examined acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for the baked product amongconsumers with no previous experience of entomophagy. Our results showed that the insect oilswere compositionally richer in omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, and vitamin E than the plant oils.Proximate analysis and volatile chemistry revealed that differences in aroma and taste of the cookieswere associated with their sources of oils. Consumers’ acceptance was high for cookies preparedwithR. differens(95%) and sesame (89%) oils compared to those with olive andS. gregariaoils.Notably, cookies prepared with insect oils had more than 50% dislike in aroma and taste. Consumers’willingness to pay for cookies prepared with insect oils was 6–8 times higher than for cookiescontaining olive oil, but 3–4 times lower than cookies containing sesame oil. Our findings show thatintegrating edible insect oils into cookies, entices people to “take the first step” in entomophagy bydecreasing insect-based food products neophobia, thereby, contributing to consumers’ acceptance ofthe baked products. However, future research should explore the use of refined or flavored insectoils for bakery products to reduce off-flavors that might have been perceived in the formulatedfood products