Obtenção de farinha da casca do cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum)

Abstract

Cupuaçu is a fruit widely consumed by Brazilians, more specifically among those in the Amazon region. The production of the fruit and the pulp process are a great source of generation income for families and industries, but there is a large generation of organic waste that is largely discarded irregularly in nature. Nowadays, there is a great search for new sustainable ways to develop new eating habits and alternatives for people's dietary supplements, whether for health or economic reasons, and Cupuaçu peels as they are rich in nutrients, can be used as an alternative to this study. In addition to food use, it also has applications in agriculture, such as animal supplementation, organic fertilizer, among others. Whit this, new paths are opened for the development of new products and also directions for small producers to correct destination of the waste generated. As a result of this ideal, a laboratory study was carried out on the residues generated from some samples of the fruit to obtain its physical-chemical aspects, in addition to its processing to generate a wholemeal flour similar to other products of wholemeal origin to create other food products. With the results of the studies, a food test was carried out in the field with a group of people, where the gustatory and visual perceptions of a cake made with two samples of Cupuaçu flour taken during the tests were analyzed. The result ended up being satisfactory, with an acceptance well above expectations, although some of those analyzed felt strange due to the lack of taste of the fruit and the texture of the samples. In the end, it’s clear that studies must be further in-depth to generate new destinations and purposes for using the flour or other products resulting from further experiments from Cupuaçu waste, given its versatility and abundance.