Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 57: 121128, 2002.

2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Use of apple pomace as a source of dietary fiber in

cakes
F.A. MASOODI1,, BHAWANA SHARMA1 and G.S. CHAUHAN2

1 Department of Food Science and Technology Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana

Agricultural University Hisar, 125 004, India; 2 Department of Food Science and Technology
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Pantnagar, 263 145, India ( author for
correspondence)

Received 27 October 1999; accepted in revised form 15 July 2000

Abstract. Dried and powdered apple pomace was passed through 30, 50 and 60 mesh sieves
to get pomace of varying particle size. Blends were prepared by mixing 5, 10 and 15 percent
pomace from each of the three prticle sizes with wheat flour. The blends were evaluated
for cake. Batter viscosity increased with increasing pomace level and decreasing particle
size. Specific gravity and pH of the batter decreased with increasing pomace levels. Cake
weight, shrinkage and uniformity index increased with increasing pomace levels, whereas,
cake volume and symmetry index showed a reverse trend.
Key words: Apple pomace, Batter, Cake, Dietary fiber

Introduction
Epidemiological studies have related inadequate fiber intake to a wide spectrum of diseases like atherosclerosis, diverticulosis, colonic cancer and appendicitis [1]. Plant fibers are often added to foods to lower incidence of these
disorders and dilute calories. Because of their high consumption, baked food
products are potential carriers of dietary fiber. Many fiber sources have been
identified and are being used in various baked products. Some of the common
products which have been investigated for this purpose include wheat bran
[2], oat hulls [3], brewers spent grains [4], oat bran [5] and field pea hulls
[6]. A lesser known fiber source, apple pomace, offers some advantages over
cereal brans and legume hulls. It lacks phytic acid which renders minerals
like zinc unavailable. Also, it is a rich source of soluble dietary fiber (pectin)
that has a hypocholestrolemic effect.
Pomace is the solid material that remains after extraction of juice from
apples. In commercial apple processing, about 25 percent of the fruit comes
out in the form of pomace [7]. Attempts have been made to use apple pomace

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as a dietary fiber in some baked food products [8, 9]. However, information
regarding use of apple pomace in cakes is scarce. The present paper reports
the observations made during a study of incorporating apple pomace into
cakes.
Materials and methods
Apple pomace. Apple pomace was obtained from an apple juice concentrate
plant of Jammu and Kashmir Horticultural Produce Processing and Marketing Corporation (JKHPMC) located at Doabgah Sopore, Jammu and
Kashmir, India. It was dried in a cabinet drier (Narang Scientific Works) at
58 2 C. Seeds, stems and other extraneous materials were manually removed from the pomace. Pomace was then ground in a hammer mill (Fitz)
and passed through sieves of 30, 50 and 60 mesh to get pomace of different
particle sizes.
Five, 10 and 15 percent of apple pomace of each particle size was mixed
with wheat flour to obtain blends. The blends were manually mixed and then
sieved three times to achieve uniform mixing. The blends were stored in high
density polyethylene (HDPE) containers prior to use.
Preparation of cakes. The creamery method was followed for preparation
of cakes using the following ingredients:
Fine flour/blend
Powdered sugar
Fat (Vegetable fat)
Whole egg
Baking powder (Single acting)

100 g
84 g
84 g
84 g
7g

Powdered sugar and melted fat were mixed thoroughly followed by addition of beaten egg; with subsequent mixing. To this mixture, the flour/blend
which had been combined with baking powder was added and mixed. The
flour/blend was added in stages followed by mixing after each addition to
achieve uniform and thorough mixing. The batter was prepared in stainless
steel pots and poured in baking pans with a diameter of 7.5 cm and height of
6 cm. Baking was done at 180 C.
Physical evaluation of batter and cake. Batter viscosity was determined
with a Brookfield viscometer (Synchro Electric) using a No. 4 spindle [10].
The spindle was dipped into a 250 ml sample in a 500 ml beaker. The observations were recorded after the dial had made one complete revolution and

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Table 1. Effect of particle size and level of apple pomace on cake batter
characteristics
Particle size
(mesh)

Pomace level (%)

Control

64.6

0.96

7.19

30

5
10
15

82.6
113.6
307.6

0.96
0.94
0.93

7.10
6.96
6.84

50

5
10
15

99.0
122.0
311.6

0.95
0.93
0.93

7.03
6.95
6.82

60

5
10
15

117.0
138.0
320.6

0.94
0.91
0.89

7.11
6.98
6.82

0.002
0.002

0.01
0.02

CD (particle size)
CD (level)

Batter characteristics
Viscosity (poise) Sp. gravity

1.80
2.08

pH

All values are the average of three observation.

the reading was then converted to poise by multiplying with the appropriate
factor. Specific gravity was determined by measuring equal volumes of batter
and water at room temperature (35 C) [11]. Batter pH was determined using
a digital pH meter (Systronics, 355). Rapeseed displacement was used for
determining the cake volume. AACC [12] methods were used for obtaining
data related to uniformity, symmetry, volume and shrinkage.

Results and discussion

Batter characteristics. Changes in batter characteristics with the addition
of apple pomace are shown in Table 1. There was a significant (p < 0.05)
increase in batter viscosity with increasing pomace level. With the decrease in
particle size, a significant (p < 0.05) increase in batter viscosity was observed.
De Fouw et al. [13] also reported an increase in batter viscosity when 15
percent flour was replaced with either unheated or roasted navy bean hulls.
Similar observations were made by Springsteen et al. [14]. Brockmole &
Zabik [15] attributed the higher viscosity of fiber incorporated batters to water

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Figure 1. Effect of apple pomace level and particle size on cake volume.

absorption by fiber. Collins & Sunderline [16] demonstrated that a relationship exists between batter viscosity and cake structure. They found that thin
batters were not viscous enough to hold air incorporated during mixing or
the gas liberated by the baking powder. Zabik et al. [10] observed that cake
batter with mechanically ground cellulose was more viscous and the cake was
slightly higher and more convex than those containing hydrolyzed cellulose.
The finer particle size of pomace increased water absorption resulting in more
viscosity.
Specific gravity decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increasing
pomace level (Table 1). Decreasing the particle size of pomace from 30 to 50
mesh, in general, decreased specific gravity significantly (p < 0.05). Brockmole & Zabik [15] also reported a decrease in batter specific gravity with increasing bran level but the decrease was nonsignificant. Contrary to the results
of this study, Brys & Zabik [11] reported an increase in batter specific gravity
with increasing levels of microcrystalline cellulose. Such variation may be
attributed to the difference in physicochemical characteristics of pomace and
microcrystalline cellulose.
The pH of the batter declined significantly (p < 0.05) with the increase in
pomace level (Table 2). It decreased from 7.19 in the control to 6.84 at a 15
percent level of 30 mesh pomace, whereas, in the case of 50 and 60 mesh
pomace, it decreased to 6.82 at the same level of substitution. Particle size
of pomace did not affect batter pH significantly (p > 0.05). The decrease in
batter pH of pomace flour blends may be attributed to acid content of pomace.

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Table 2. Effect of particle size and level of apple pomace on physical characteristics of
cake
Particle size Pomace
(mesh)
level (%)

Weight Shrinkage Vol. index Uniformity Symmetry

(g)
(cm)
(cm)
index (cm) index (cm)

Control
30

5
10
15

335.3
337.6
339.6
342.6

0.10
0.13
0.20
0.23

12.2
12.0
11.3
11.1

0.13
0.23
0.30
0.33

0.88
0.50
0.36
0.00

50

5
10
15

337.0
339.0
340.3

0.10
0.20
0.20

12.1
11.5
11.3

0.23
0.23
0.23

0.53
0.43
0.06

60

5
10
15

335.3
338.3
340.0

0.10
0.16
0.16

12.2
11.8
11.5

0.13
0.20
0.23

0.66
0.46
0.13

0.04
0.04

0.03
0.03

CD (particle size)
CD (level)

0.83 0.02
0.96 0.02

0.42
0.49

All values are the average of three observations.

Physical characteristics. Responses related to physical characteristics of

the cake to particle size and level of pomace are in Table 2. Cake weight increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increasing levels of pomace. Weight
of cakes containing 30 mesh pomace were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than
those containing 50 or 60 mesh pomace. However, 50 and 60 mesh pomace,
did not differ significantly from each other with respect to cake weight. This
increase in weight of cakes with the increased level of substitution may be
attributed to higher retention of moisture by pomace.
A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in cake volume was observed with an
increase in pomace level (Figure 1). Control samples had an average cake
volume of 961.6 cc which decreased to 878.3, 886.6 and 901.6 cc at 15
percent level of 30, 50 and 60 mesh pomace, respectively. Particle size of
pomace also had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on cake volume. The finer the
particle size of pomace, the higher the cake volume. Brys & Zabik [11] also
made similar observations while studying the effect of fiber on cake characteristics. Volume was affected by air incorporation into the batter and the
ability of the batter to entrap leavening gases released from the baking powder
system. Increased replacements of flour with cellulose have been reported to
weaken the gluten matrix responsible for retaining gases in baked foods [17,

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18] Springsten et al. [14], however, reported that cake volume indices were
not affected by the particle size of the bran used.
Shrinkage of cakes increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing pomace levels (Table 2). However, at the 5 percent pomace level, shrinkage
was nonsignificant (p > 0.05). Though blends containing larger particle size
pomace resulted in slightly higher shrinkage of cakes, the changes were nonsignificant (p > 0.05). Brokmole & Zabik [15] reported a shrinkage range of 0.9
to 1.3 and 1.1 to 1.5 for cakes prepared with 60 and 70 percent extracted
flours, respectively. Brys & Zabik [11] reported that in the cakes with a
60 percent flour replacement with microcrystalline cellulose, shrinkage was
significantly less than those with 0, 20 or 40 percent substitution levels.
Volume index (VI) also decreased with increased pomace level (Table 2).
However, the VI of cakes made from the blends containing 10 and 15 percent
pomace differed significantly (p < 0.05) from the control and those prepared
from blends with 5 percent pomace but nonsignificantly from each other.
Effect of particle size on VI was nonsignificant (p > 0.05).
Uniformity index (UI), which is an indicator related to the symmetry of
the cake, increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing pomace level
(Table 2). Differences in UI between 10 and 15 percent pomace levels were
not significant (p > 0.05) but both levels increased the UI significantly
(p < 0.05) when compared with the control. Effect of particle size was also
significant (p < 0.05) on UI. Though it decreased with the decrease in particle
size, the differences between the values of UI of samples containing equal
quantities of 50 and 60 mesh pomace were nonsignificant p < 0.05) except
at 5 percent pomace level. These findings are not in accordance with those
of Brys & Zabik [11] who reported a nonsignificant (p > 0.05) change in
UI by incorporation of microcrystalline cellulose in cakes. This may be attributed to the difference in chemical nature of microcrystalline cellulose and
apple pomace. DeFouw et al. [13], while studying the effects of incorporating
bean hulls in cakes, reported that untreated hulls decreased the UI of cakes
whereas roasted hulls did not. Symmetry index, which represents the contour
of the cake, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing pomace level
(Table 2). These results also revealed that decrease in symmetry index was
significantly (p < 0.05) less in the case of fine pomace.
It is, thus, concluded that incorporation of apple pomace does not change
the physical properites of cake to an undesirable level and can be used as
source of dietary fiber. Pomace of smaller particle size is better than that with
bigger particle size related to cake quality.

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Acknowledgments
Cooperation extended by Jammu and Kashmir Horticultural Produce Processing and Marketing Corporation (JKHPMC) by providing apple pomace
and facilities for its dehydration, is sincerely acknowledged. The first author
is thankful to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for financial
assistance in the form of fellowship.

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