EFFECT OF FERMENTATION TIME ON THE AMINO ACID PROFILE AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR COOKIES FORMULATIONS MADE FROM SOUCHET (CYPERUS ESCULENTUS L)

The souchet (Cyperus esculentus L.) is an underutilized plant whose rough-textured tubers are commonly found in local food markets in Cote d Ivoire and are used primarily as a snack. However, the souchet cultivated and consumed in Cote d Ivoire remains a marginalized agri-food resource, often limited to traditional consumption in the form of beverages or raw tubers. The overall objective of this study is to contribute to the valorization of souchet flour (Cyperus esculentus L.) through the production of cookies at different fermentation times. The experimental approach involved developing four (4) biscuit formulations made from unfermented tubers (BFST) and fermented tubers for 24 hours (BFSF24), 48 hours (BFSF48), and 72 hours (BFSF72), respectively, all produced without added sugar. Proximate analyses focused on determining the amino acid profile. Sensory evaluation was conducted by a panel of 20 tasters using a nine-point (9) hedonic scale. The 48-hour fermentation period proved to be optimal, yielding the highest concentrations of essential amino acids and phenolic compounds. Sensory evaluations showed that all formulations scored above 5/9. Only aroma revealed a significant difference among the formulations (p = 0.029); the control formulation (BFST) received the highest overall score (7.05/9).