Okara: A soybean by-product as an alternative to enrich vegetable paste

Abstract Okara is the residue of hydrosoluble extract from soybean used for producing tofu and soydrink and presents high nutritional value. Therefore, it has important characteristics that make it an excellent alternative to being incorporated into “pâte”, i.e., a soft mixture of vegetables transformed into paste to which various flavorings are added. As a result, it has enhanced sensory properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the application of okara on the development of pâte formulations in order to yield a product with good acceptability and nutritional quality. Three formulations were prepared from the wet soybean residue, which showed high moisture (80.77%–81.42%), low lipid (5.62%–7.62%) and low calorie (95.14–108.14 kcal) contents. The sample with the lowest content of okara (34 g/100 g) showed the highest average in the acceptance test (8.0) and was also considered the tasters’ favorite one. It was significantly different from the others in the preference ranking test. The food product enriched with okara had β-carotene (0.411mg/100 mL), compounds with antioxidant activity and isoflavones (0.15 μmol/gFM) in its composition. The process developed by this study enabled to yield a vegetable paste enriched with okara, an agroindustrial by-product, as an interesting alternative to a new food product.