Banana peels mostly find yourself within the trash or compost bin, but they at the moment are finding more yummy uses. Researchers have found that using a little bit of banana peel flour on sugar cookies could make the dessert more healthful and much more satisfying.

For his or her recent study, published in ACS (American Chemical Society) Food Science & Technology, the researchers checked out how adding banana peel flour would affect the dietary and antioxidant content of sugar cookies in comparison with those made solely with wheat flour.

Researchers recently found that banana peels could be made into flour, the ACS noted in a news release. Banana peel flour is wealthy in fiber, potassium, magnesium and antioxidants. Using it to exchange “small amounts” of wheat flour in baked goods corresponding to cakes and breads has also been found to make them “more nutritious.” Nonetheless, experiments have not been widely done on cookies, in response to ACS.

For his or her work, the researchers made various batches of sugar cookies, replacing as much as 15% of superfine wheat flour with banana peel flour. They compared them with a control batch of cookies with none banana peel flour.

They found that the sugar cookies with banana peel flour were “more healthful,” having less fat and protein. Meanwhile, the control cookies had the very best fat and protein content. The antioxidant properties also “significantly increased” within the cookies with the banana peel flour substitute.

The sugar cookies with banana peel flour were also browner and a bit harder than the control that had only wheat flour, possibly due to higher fiber content, in response to ACS. The hardness, nevertheless, decreased while in storage.

Among the many cookie batches with various amounts of banana peel flour substitute, those identified by a “trained panel” to have the “best texture and highest overall acceptability” was the batch with 7.5% banana peel flour substitution, ACS said. The cookies “kept well” in storage for about three months at room temperature and even tasted similar to the controls that used only wheat flour after the storage period.

“The outcomes showed that cookies enriched with BPF [banana peel flour] were obtained with improved antioxidant properties and total phenolic content without altering their physical and dietary properties and likewise fathomed the favorable acceptance,” the researchers wrote.

This shows promise for using banana peel flour to complement foods’ dietary content while still maintaining “consumer acceptance.” It is also a novel way of reducing food waste. For example, ACS noted that there’s now also banana peel “bacon,” which may be appealing for those considering a more plant-based weight loss plan.

In line with the United Nations (UN), “tons and tons” of edible food find yourself getting wasted on daily basis. Reducing food waste is important, especially with world hunger continually increasing.

“Stop food loss and waste,” the UN noted. “For the people. For the planet.”