Influence of partial defatted cricket powder on physicochemical properties and quality characteristics of protein bar

The trend of consuming high-protein bars is increasing. Edible cricket has recently emerged as a promising alternative protein source that may help address global food challenges. However, the physicochemical, nutritional, textural, and sensory qualities of the cricket protein-enriched bars must be effectively balanced. In this study, whole cricket powder (WC) and defatted cricket powder (DC) were used as protein substitutes at 25% and 50% replacement levels of whey protein in the formulation. Compared with protein bars containing WC, those formulated with DC exhibited higher hardness and lower deformation at fracture, indicating a firmer and comparatively more brittle structure. The overall acceptability of 25% DC protein bar, as evaluated based on physicochemical and sensory attributes, was significantly higher than that of the other products ( p < 0.05). In addition, the results revealed that partial defatting pretreatment of cricket powder, with 32.3% fat removal using ethyl alcohol as a green solvent influenced the desirable properties of the obtained insect-based protein bar, as indicated by the textural analysis and sensory evaluation. The protein bar containing 25% DC exhibited a protein content comparable to that of the whey protein control (37.84 ± 0.88% and 36.32 ± 1.33%, respectively; p ≥ 0.05), whereas its total energy was significantly higher (457.63 ± 4.54 and 443.63 ± 2.00 kcal/100 g, respectively; p < 0.05). Moreover, its water activity (0.54 ± 0.01) was lower than that of control (0.69 ± 0.01), highlighting the potential and benefit of using edible cricket as an ingredient in protein bars.