Development and Nutritional Assessment of Finger Millet-Based Edible Cutlery Incorporated with Jaggery

Abstract

The increasing accumulation of single-use plastic cutlery poses a serious environmental threat due to its non-biodegradable nature and long persistence in landfills. This study aimed to develop and evaluate nutritionally enriched, eco-friendly edible cutleries using finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) flour as a partial or complete substitute for wheat flour. Edible cutleries were formulated using varying proportions of wheat flour and finger millet flour (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%), with jaggery as a natural sweetener and binding agent. The prepared cutleries were baked at 160°C for 20 minutes and assessed for physicochemical, textural, sensory, and nutritional characteristics. Proximate analysis revealed that the incorporation of finger millet significantly influenced the nutritional composition of the cutleries. The T2 formulation (50% finger millet flour) exhibited optimal nutritional properties, with moisture content of 6.40%, energy value of 355.89 kcal/100 g, carbohydrates of 78.50 g/100 g, protein of 8.02 g/100 g, fat of 1.09 g/100 g, fiber of 4.45 g/100 g, and ash content of 1.54 g/100 g. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA indicated significant differences (p < 0.001) among treatments for most parameters except fat content. Texture analysis demonstrated a progressive decrease in hardness with increasing finger millet content, attributed to reduced gluten strength. Sensory evaluation using a 9-point hedonic scale showed that the 50% finger millet sample (T2) achieved the highest overall acceptability despite lower hardness. Overall, the study concludes that finger millet-based edible cutleries are nutritionally superior, structurally stable, and sensorially acceptable, offering a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to conventional plastic cutlery while promoting the utilization of nutrient-rich traditional grains.