# Impact of Coconut Copra Byproducts Incorporation on Granola Quality Characteristics
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Rheological Properties of Blends  
The pasting characteristics of the samples are presented in Table 1 and illustrated in Figure 4. The pasting profiles of coconut copra (CC) and its blends with banana flour (BF) demonstrate distinct patterns of viscosity development during the heating-cooling cycle, reflecting their different starch gelatinization and retrogradation behaviors. Notably, pure banana flour exhibited significantly higher viscosity parameters than CC and its blends, with a peak viscosity of 5249 \(\pm\) 158 mPa-s, indicating substantial starch swelling capacity. This difference in viscosity development highlights the unique properties of banana flour and its potential impact on the texture and structure of the final product when blended with coconut copra. The pasting curve showed a characteristic sharp increase in viscosity during heating, followed by a breakdown phase (1443 \(\pm\) 148.5 mPa-s) during the holding period at 95 \({}^{\circ}\)C, suggesting moderate starch granule disruption under shear. The peak viscosity, trough viscosity and final viscosity obtained in our study are much higher; the pasting temperature is also higher. In contrast, the breakdown, setback, and peak time are lower than those obtained in the study by [PERSON] et al. (2021) [PERSON] et al. (2021) on banana flours of different varieties. In the study by [PERSON] et al. (2000) [PERSON] et al. (2000) on the physicochemical characteristics of  
Figure 3: Techno-functional characteristics of coconut copra and banana flour blends. CC—coconut copra; BF—banana flour; FC—foaming capacity; FS—foaming stability; EA—emulsification activity; ES—emulsification stability; different lowercase letters within the parameter mean significant differences at \(p\) = 0.05.  
flours obtained from different varieties of bananas, the researchers obtained much lower values of almost all the parameters except peak time. The CC50/50 BF blend showed intermediate pasting behavior with considerably lower peak viscosity (1207 \(\pm\) 68 mPa-s) than pure BF. This blend demonstrated a minimal breakdown (11 \(\pm\) 0 mPa-s), indicating better stability during heating and shearing. The setback viscosity was also moderate (348.5 \(\pm\) 20.5 mPa-s), suggesting a reduced tendency for retrogradation. The CC75/25 BF blend exhibited the lowest viscosity profile with a peak viscosity of 253 \(\pm\) 0 mPa-s and minimal breakdown (12 \(\pm\) 0 mPa-s). The low final viscosity (383 \(\pm\) 0 mPa-s) and setback (142 \(\pm\) 0 mPa-s) suggest a limited retrogradation tendency, which could be beneficial for product stability. Pasting temperatures were relatively consistent across samples (84.3-85.6 \({}^{\circ}\)C), though peak times varied, with CC75/25 BF showing a notably longer time to peak viscosity (7.9 \(\pm\) 0.2 s) compared to other samples (5.6-5.7 s). This pattern indicates that increasing CC content delays viscosity development but provides better paste stability and suggests that while CC addition reduces overall paste viscosity, it enhances thermal stability and reduces retrogradation tendency. These characteristics could be particularly advantageous in applications where controlled viscosity development and stability are desired, such as in granola processing. The texture and structural characteristics of the gels formed from the blend samples were further evaluated by hardness analysis (Figure 5). The hardness analysis of gels formed from coconut copra (CC) and its blends with banana flour (BF) revealed significant differences in gel strength and structural characteristics. Notably, the gel made from pure