Vegan Gluten-Free Cookies: ENCB students develop alternative food

Claudia Villalobos

Students of Biochemical Engineering at the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB) are addressing the nutritional needs of vegan and/or gluten-intolerant individuals by creating cookies made from peanuts, amaranth, chickpeas, and chia, which provide a good energy supply conferred by the macronutrients they contain.

The cookies, produced at the ENCB cereal plant by Alejandra Ibarra Arriola, Alma Rosa Marín Quintín, and Karen Atziri Pérez Alanís, are intended to become an alternative food for those who do not consume animal protein or gluten and require balanced nutrition.

The IPN students mentioned some properties of the product's ingredients. They noted that peanuts are a source of protein, folic acid, and linoleic acid; amaranth contains high-quality proteins, and minerals such as iron, calcium, and phosphorus, vitamins A, B, C, B1, B2, B3, and folic acid; chickpeas provide vitamin K, iron, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and are rich in fiber, while chia seeds have a high content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

To make the product more appealing, they added a filling made with chocolate and taro, an Asian root that provides vitamins B12, E, and C, magnesium, potassium, copper, and phosphorus, as well as chickpea flour to replace the milk found in conventional cookies.

In the absence of gluten in the formulation, the students conducted various tests to achieve the proper texture of the cookies, which they prepared by the guidelines set by official quality standards for such foods.

Alejandra Ibarra, Alma Rosa Marín, and Karen Pérez believe that the new food product has potential for commercialization, as unlike other products on the market, it includes ingredients whose combination is very palatable, and the nutrient content is superior.

They do not rule out the possibility of incubating the product in the future to increase the likelihood of making it available to the public. To achieve this, they will improve the formulation to extend the shelf life and preserve the nutritional properties in optimal conditions.

Gaceta Politécnica #1779. (March 15th, 2024). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here.