Published Paper Details:

ABSTRACT Introduction: Nachos are the popular snack of the day. Nachos is a Mexican dish from northern Mexico that consists of heated tortilla chips or totopos chips covered with melted cheese, often served as a snack or appetizer. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals like vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids), manganese, folate, copper, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin E, calcium and vitamin C. Spinach is also a very good source of zinc, dietary fiber, phosphorus, vitamin B1 and choline. It contains a unique and beneficial mixture of phytonutrients, as well as antioxidants, flavonoids and carotenoids. Objectives: A study was undertaken to develop value added nachos using spinach and to evaluate its sensory qualities. Methodology: The procedure for development of value added, nachos using spinach was standardized. 2 variations of nachos were prepared by substituting maize flour with spinach at 25 per cent and 50 per cent. The developed products were evaluated for its sensory quality by semi trained panelist using 9-point hedonic scale. Results: Sensory qualities like appearance, color, texture, taste, odor, overall acceptability. were evaluated and the results showed that, means scores for variation I (25%) were on par with the control sample, whereas sensory scores for the variation II (50%) were decreased which may be because of lower scores for taste, color and flavor. Conclusion: It can be concluded that addition of 25% spinach in nachos was best accepted, with improved the nutritional quality. So, it can be a healthy snack, can be used to replace unhealthy commercially available nachos.