Effect of ratio of taro (<i>Colocasia esculenta L.</i>) on physicochemical properties of snacks

Taro root (Colocasia esculenta L.) is indeed a valuable food crop, rich in nutrients like starch, sugar, minerals, vitamins, and fiber, especially, mucilage. It acts as a thickening, binding, emulsifying, swelling capacities or foaming agent in food, and pharmaceutical. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the ratio of taro mash (15, 25, 35 and 45%), on quality parameters (moisture content, expansion ratio, weight loss, oil absorption, hardness) and color (L, a*, b*) of taro snack. The results showed that, when the percentage of added taro was higher, the expansion of the snack increased and the hardness decreased. There were strong correlation coefficients between quality characteristics (moisture content, expansion ratio, weight loss, oil absorption, hardness, color) with ratio of taro mash. Snack supplemented with taro achieved the best quality when adding 35% taro. This research contributes to developing new products from taro and creating new snack products for consumers.