1

Effects of Fiber Additives on Overall Acceptability of Pancakes Made with Bisquick

Written by Brenda Borba and Chelsea Cotugno

Experimental Foods 709:489

 2

Abstract:

Diverticulosis is a condition characterized by the formation of pouches, or sacs, bulging

out of the colon wall where feces can accumulate. One way diverticular disease can be treated is

by increasing one’s fiber intake. Four different variations of pancakes were made with

Bisquick® mix. Three of these variations had two tablespoons of chia seeds, flaxseed meal and

psyllium husk powder added to the mix. A sample of each of the four pancakes were evaluated

based on subjective measurements by a five-member panelist. Based on the results, chia seeds

showed a significant difference between the texture of the control (p-value 0.001). There was a

significant difference in the consistency between the chia seeds (p-value 0.03) and psyllium husk

pancakes (p-value 0.01) to the control. In terms of overall liking, the control pancake was the

most favorable when tested subjectively. There was no significant difference between the chia

and flaxseed pancakes to the overall liking of the control pancake. While the psyllium husk

pancake showed a significant difference between the overall liking of the control (p-value 0.03).

For someone with diverticulitis, it would be recommended to have an added fiber boost of chia

seeds or flaxseed meal to make for palatable and enjoyable pancakes for breakfast.
 3

Introduction:

Diverticular disease is the common name to generalize diverticulosis. Diverticulosis is a

condition characterized by the formation of pouches, or sacs, bulging out of the colon wall where

feces can accumulate. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Most people with diverticulosis do

not have symptoms or problems, but for those that do, the condition is then called Diverticular

Disease, which can then lead to Diverticulitis. Diverticulitis occurs when one or a few of the

diverticula, pouches, become inflamed, which then can lead to serious complications.

Diverticulosis affects one in ten Americans over the age of forty and about half of all

people over sixty years old. Recent research suggests that an increase in fiber may help treat

individuals with diverticulosis (NIH). Multiple studies support the benefits of increasing the fiber

intake for an individual with diverticulosis. One observational study stated that consuming a

vegetarian diet and a diet high in fiber both reduce the risk of admission to a hospital due to

diverticular disease (Allen, 2011). Another study by Crowe, stated that an increase of fiber in the

diet led to a reduced risk of diverticular disease. This study by Crowe revealed the four main

sources of fiber amongst UK women. This research study used a “40-item food questionnaire

and remeasured one year later in 4265 randomly-selected women” (Crowe, 2014). Their results

showed that the average intake of fiber was 13.8g/day, of which 42% came from cereals (Crowe,

2014). Based off these studies, our research focused specifically on diverticular disease and how

to increase the fiber intake in grains, specifically pancakes.

Patients with diverticulosis are instructed to use medication, probiotics and fiber. The

experiment conducted was on breakfast foods and the need for added fiber in pancakes. Pancakes
 4

do not typically contain fiber. In order to incorporate more fiber in an individual’s diet, chia

seeds, flaxseed meal, and psyllium husk powder can be added to pancakes. However, it is

questionable whether the fiber additives affect the overall acceptability of pancakes made with

Bisquick®. Utilizing the three ingredient recipe from Bisquick® allowed for a realistic and

approachable procedure that an average individual would use when making pancakes from a box

brand.

The methodology used for this experiment utilized the Bisquick® recipe, found on the

box of the baking mix, and added two tablespoons of each fiber additive for each pancake

variation. This allowed for a simple procedure to minimize possible flaws. The pancakes were

tested on objective variables such as viscosity using the line-spread test, the average time to cook

one pancake, and the average height and diameter of two pancakes stacked. The pancakes were

also tested on subjective variables such as the flavor, texture, consistency, appearance,

moistness, and overall liking of each pancake variation. The subjective measurements were

tested by a five-member panelist. Based on the subjective results, the control pancakes ranked

the highest for the overall liking. Flaxseed meal was the most favored out of all the fiber additive

sources.

Materials and Methods:

Ingredient Amount Ingredient Source

4 cups
Pancake Mix Heart Smart Bisquick®

Pancake and Baking Mix,

Minneapolis, MN
 5

2 cups
Whole Milk Organic Valley Whole Milk,

New York

4 eggs
Large White Eggs Eggland’s Best, Malvern, PA

Chia Seeds 2 Tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill, Milwaukie,

OR

Flaxseed Meal 2 Tablespoons Hodgson Mill, Effingham, IL

Psyllium Husk Powder 2 Tablespoons Now Healthy, Bloomingdale,

IL

[Figure 1: Recipe of Bisquick pancakes]

In this experiment we utilized the Heart Smart Bisquick® Pancake and Baking Mix, and

followed the three ingredient recipe [Fig. 1]. For each of the four pancake variations, we began
 6

with the same pancake batter as the ‘base’. The pancake batter was made using with one cup of

the pancake mix, half a cup of milk and one egg and everything was mixed in a glass bowl. One

bowl of the pancake batter was set aside for the ‘control’. The three other bowls had three

different fiber additives mixed into the batter. Two tablespoons of chia seeds were added into

one batter, flaxseed meal was added into another, and psyllium husk powder was added to the

last batter. Each batter variation was tested for viscosity using the line-spread test. One

tablespoon of each pancake batter was used for this test and the test was performed three times

for each batter. The average was recorded for each line-spread test. Then each pancake variation

was cooked on a buttered griddle on medium heat. The time to cook was recorded for three

pancakes from each variation. The average time was calculated for each of the pancake

variations. The pancakes were pan-fried on a griddle until they were golden brown on both sides.

Finally, the height of two pancakes stacked was recorded by using a ruler. This was done for

each variation three times and the average was recorded. The diameter of the pancake was

recorded by using a ruler and this was done for each pancake variation and recorded three times.

The average was recorded for each variation. Finally, one of each pancake variation was placed

on a paper plate that was labeled with randomized numbers. Each number corresponded to a

specific variation. The plate of the samples were then each given to the five-member panelist.

The panelists were then given a sensory ballot [see Fig.2] and recorded their ranking on flavor,

texture, appearance, consistency, moistness and overall liking for each pancake variation using a

five-point Likert scale. After gathering the results, a T-test was performed on the subjective data

collected. The control pancake with no added fiber was ranked the highest for overall liking.

Flaxseeds were the most preferred of the three fiber additives based on their overall liking rank.
 7

[Figure 2: Image of sensory ballots distributed to panelists.]

Results:

Table 1: Results of objective variable measures of various pancake types.

Table 1 displays the results from the objective measurements performed on the four

different pancake recipes. Based on the results of the “Line Spread” test, the pancake batter with

added psyllium husk powder was the most viscous, and the control pancake batter was more

fluid than the other pancake recipes. The control pancake batter took the least amount of time to
 8

cook on average (1:25 mins) and the pancake batter with added psyllium husk powder took the

longest time to cook on average (4:33 mins). The pancakes with added psyllium husk powder

were the largest in diameter on average (9.1 cm), and the control pancakes were the smallest in

diameter on average (6.6 cm). The pancakes with the largest average height were those with

added flaxseed meal (4 cm), and the pancakes with the shortest average height were those with

added psyllium husk powder (1.5 cm).

Figures 3 through 8 represent the results of the subjective measurements on the four

variations of pancakes based on the assessments of five participants.

Figure 3: The overall evaluations of Flavor for the four different types of pancakes

Figure 3 displays the results of the overall acceptability of the flavor for each pancake

variation. Based on the results of two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there were no

significant differences between any of the pancake recipes with added fiber compared to the

control. However, the pancakes made with psyllium husk were rated the least appealing in flavor

compared to the other three variations of pancakes.

 9

Figure 4: The overall evaluations of Texture for the four different types of pancakes

Figure 4 displays the results of the overall acceptability of the texture for each pancake

variation. Based on the results of two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there was a

significant difference between the textures of the pancakes with chia seeds and the control

pancakes (p=0.001), with the chia seed pancakes being more grainy than the control. Despite the

addition of fiber, the pancake variations made with flaxseed and psyllium husk were rated

relatively smooth on average.

Figure 5: The overall evaluations of Consistency for the four different types of pancakes
 10

Figure 5 displays the results of the overall acceptability of the consistency for each

pancake variation. Based on the results of two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there was

a significant difference between the consistency of the pancakes with chia seeds and the control

pancakes (p=0.034), with the chia seed pancakes being more dense than the control. There was

an even more significant difference between the pancakes made with psyllium husk and the

control pancakes (p=0.012) with the psyllium pancakes also being more dense than the control.

Figure 6: The overall evaluations of Appearance for the four different types of pancakes

Figure 6 displays the results of the overall acceptability of the appearance for each

pancake variation. Based on the results of two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there were

no significant differences between the pancakes made with added fiber and the control pancakes.

Figure 7: The overall evaluations of Moistness for the four different types of pancakes
 11

Figure 7 displays the results of the overall acceptability of the moistness of each pancake
variation. Based on the results of the two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there were no
significant differences between the pancakes made with added fiber and the control pancakes.

Figure 8: The evaluations of Overall Liking for the four different types of pancakes

Figure 8 displays the results of the overall liking for each pancake variation. Based on

the results of the two-tailed, paired samples T-tests (p<0.05), there was a significant difference

between the overall liking scores of the pancakes made with psyllium husk and the control

pancakes (p=0.035), with the psyllium pancakes being more disliked overall compared to the

control pancakes.
 12

Nutrition Labels:

Discussion:

Not all breakfast foods contain a significant source of fiber. Adding fiber to pancakes can

aid in people with diverticulosis or average Americans acquiring enough daily fiber through their

diet. In this experiment, the addition of flaxseeds and chia seeds to pancakes was well accepted;

however the addition of psyllium husk to pancakes was not well accepted. The incorporation of

fiber into pancakes, or any other daily breakfast, could have a huge impact on the daily fiber

intake of an individual with diverticulosis.

 13

It was unexpected that the pancakes made with psyllium would be as dry as they were.

The high density of the batter for the psyllium pancakes could have been avoided had more

liquid been added to the batter, but doing this during the experiment would have led to an

inconsistent procedure because the amount of liquid had to remain constant across all batter

variations. In future experiments, it would be beneficial to add extra liquid to any recipes

containing psyllium husk.

Of the three experimental variations, the pancakes with added flaxseed seemed to be the

most comparable to the control pancakes. Because the flaxseeds were ground into a meal, this

could have led to a more palatable texture than that of the chia seed or psyllium pancakes. If

more people with diverticulosis incorporated flaxseed meal into breakfast foods such as

pancakes, this would aid in acquiring the daily dietary fiber requirements that are supported by

research.

In future studies, the amount of liquid should be altered so that the batters with added

fiber have similar viscosities as the control batter. Also, future studies should broaden the types

of added fibers tested. Adding fruits, such as berries, to pancakes is another way of adding fiber

as well as flavor. This may be a more palatable way of adding fiber to one’s diet. Another

limitation of this experiment was the small N size. More participants should be included in future

studies so that the results are more representative of the population as a whole. Making these

adjustments may lead to more conclusive results.

Overall, while the control pancakes were the most accepted, the flaxseed pancakes and

chia seed pancakes were also well liked. The moisture of all of the pancakes should be altered in

the future so that the texture is more palatable. Expanding this research concept to include other

types of added fibers can lead to more palatable breakfast foods that are high in fiber content.
 14

This can make acquiring the recommended daily fiber intake easier for the average American,

but specifically for those with diverticular disease.

References:

1. Publishing, H. H. (2015). Diverticular disease of the colon. Retrieved December 13,

2017, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/diverticular-

disease-of-the-colon

2. Crowe, F. L., Appleby, P. N., Allen, N. E., & Key, T. J. (2011, July 19). Diet and risk of

diverticular disease in Oxford cohort of European Prospective Investigation into

Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): prospective study of British vegetarians and non-

vegetarians. Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21771850/

3. Crowe, F. L., Balkwill, A., Cairns, B. J., Appleby, P. N., Green, J., Reeves, G. K., . . .

Million, C. O. (2014, September). Source of dietary fibre and diverticular disease

incidence: a prospective study of UK women. Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24385599

4. Diverticular Disease. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/diverticulosis-

diverticulitis

5. The Best Diet for Diverticulitis: Splitting Fact From Fiction With Over 20 Studies. (2017,

December 05). Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

https://www.dietvsdisease.org/diverticulitis-diet/
 15

6. Understanding Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis. (2010). Retrieved December 13, 2017,

From https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/winter10/articles/winter10pg20-

21.html