Utilization of shallot bio-waste (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum) fractions for the production of functional cookies

Shallot harvesting and processing produce various waste streams, and the current study aims to investigate the effects of shallot bio-waste powder (SWP) substitution on different flour properties. Increased SWP to 50% substitution of stalk and petiole showed a rise in swelling capacity (43.33%) and water absorption (342.22%), and oil absorption (320.73%), respectively. Foaming capacity improved from 48.00% in control to 60.26% in 30% flower substitution and further decreases to 51.28% at 50%. Pasting properties reduced at higher SWP substitution and the highest drop in peak viscosity was observed at Stalk-50 (457.33 cP). Subsequently, developed functional cookies showed enhanced fiber, ash, total phenol, and total flavonoids with 3, 2, 7, and 5 fold, respectively. Cookies developed with higher substitution were of darker color and higher hardness and fracturability. Sensory evaluation with fuzzy analysis revealed better acceptance for stalk and petiole (10%) and peel (5%) of final cookies with elevated nutritional value.

Evaluating the Flour Properties under Different Levels of Particle Size Distribution and Fine Bran Content

The main objective of this study was to determine the changes in the rheological characteristics of the flour produced by the industry mill Buhler AG 600 ton/day through adding big particles of flour, semolina, and fine bran (FB) to the produced flour. The study was conducted on mixed wheat grains (80% Iraqi wheat and 20% American Red wheat). After changing the directions of some pipes in the milling section, the flours were tested, and the effect of having bigger particles in the product was measured. The results showed that the flour extraction rate, moisture content, ash, and protein were increased as the flour particle size was increased. Farinograph results explained a clear effect of big particles and fine bran on increasing the water absorption, however, the dough stability was decreased mostly insignificantly. Extensiograph results showed that there was no big difference between the control flour and other produced flour. Therefore, the changes of the mill pipes could increase the flour extraction rate and reduce the pressure on the mill rolls without significant differences in the rheological properties of the produced flour.

Effect of soaking conditions on properties of flour from sweet potato slices

Native flour of sweet potato has limited industrial applications. This study investigated effect of soaking sweet potato root in hot water and citric acid concentrations on flour properties. Sweet potato root was soaked at temperatures of 50oC, 60oC and 70oC for 2 h; citric acid concentrations of 1%, 3% and 5% for 1 h, and combination of best samples in each of the first two modification treatments in 50:50 proportions. Treated root was processed into flour using standard procedures. Proximate, functional and pasting properties of the flours were determined using standard methods. The flour was used as major ingredient in production of baked snacks. Treatments had significant effect on proximate, functional and pasting properties of the flour. Moisture content ranged from 6.5 to 9.7%, protein content 1.6 to 3.0%, ash content 0.1 to 3.15%, fiber content 3.6 to 4.2%, and carbohydrate content 82.1 to 84.7%. Water and oil absorption capacities ranged from 2.2 to 3.0 ml/g and 0.8 g/ml to 1.8 g/ml respectively, swelling power (4.32 to 9.23 g/g) and bulk density (0.77 to 0.95 g/ml). Snack produced with flour gotten from 60oC soaked root for 2 h was best in sensory ratings.

Pulse-Cereal Blend Extrusion for Improving the Antioxidant Properties of a Gluten-Free Flour

Extrusion is an interesting technological tool that facilitates pulse formulation into flour mixtures, with tailored fibre content, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glycemic index (GI) among other components in final formulas. The gluten-free (GF) market has significantly grown during the last years. GF products have evolved from specialty health foods to products targeted to the general population and not only associated to celiac consumers. This study evaluates how temperature, cereal base (rice/corn) and pulse concentration affect extruded flour properties and which conditions are more efficient to develop a gluten-free flour with high TAC and low GI. Additionally, it evaluated the effect of this optimal formula after the baking process. The results showed an increase of total phenol (TP) and antioxidant activity with extrusion, with a temperature-dependent effect (130 °C ≥ 120 °C ≥ 110 °C), which may imply an enhanced bioaccessibility of phenolics compounds after extraction. Extrusion increased GI in comparison to native flour; however, a dough temperature of 130 °C resulted in a significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower GI than that observed for 110–120 °C doughs, probably associated to the pastification that occurred at higher temperatures, which would decrease the degree of gelatinization of the starches and therefore a significant (p ≤ 0.05) GI reduction. Corn-lentil flour showed higher antioxidant properties and lower GI index in comparison with rice-lentil blends. The formulation of the optimal blend flour into a baked product (muffin) resulted in a significant loss of antioxidant properties, with the exception of the reducing power (FRAP), although the final antioxidant values of the baked product were in the range of the original native flour blend before any process.

Chayotextle flour as raw material of prebiotic gluten-free cookies added with Agave angustifolia Haw fructans

Some plants, roots or tubers have been used as possible cereal substitutes in gluten-free cookies. Chayotextle is rich in starch and other compounds that could make it a potential ingredient for products aimed at the celiac population. In this study, the effect of different mixtures of rice flour (RF) and Chayotextle flour (CF) on the final properties of cookies and the prebiotic capacity when adding agave fructans (AF) was evaluated. Flour properties (water and oil absorption, emulsifying capacity) and cookies (diameter, thickness, specific volume, color, hardness and prebiotic capacity) were determined. CF presented higher emulsifying capacity, absorption of water and oil (27.1 %, 66.22 % and 95.93 %, respectively). The cookies with CF and AF reached the highest values in physical properties (65.10-66.82 mm in diameter, 9.36-10.04 mm thickness, 1.72-2.07 mL/g specific volume and 201.82 N in hardness). CF and the CF-AF formulation showed ability promoted the growth of both strains studied: Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-3 and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. Lactis, reaching values of up to 9.82 log10 CFU/g and 9.85 log10 CFU/g (CF) respectively, in a period of 24 h. The CF and the addition of FA improved the properties of the cookies and proved to be a possible prebiotic source.

Influence of Rice Variety and Freezing on Flour Properties

Two rice varieties were used to study the effect of freezing and grinding processes on rice flour properties. The freezing and grinding processes followed by sieving mainly affected the particle size distribution, starch damage, and amylose content of flours. In case of both rice varieties, the percentage of fine particles increased in the flours obtained from frozen rice. Freezing caused the increase of the flour yields from 45.5–50.9% to 54.6–56.5% and the decrease of the flour fineness modules. Moreover, the amylose content and starch damage registered changes when grinding frozen rice, but in case of those parameters, the values are influenced additionally by the native starch properties of variety and most probably by the texture of the endosperm. The swelling power, water solubility index, and gelatinization temperature were higher in flour from frozen rice compared to the flour from non-frozen rice. The modifications generated by rice freezing prior to grinding resulted in increased mechanical properties and decreased thermo-mechanical weakening of proteins. The hardness of the gel was directly correlated with the amylose content, while the freezing process led to the increase of the dough breakdown and starch retrogradation.

Short Communication Flour Properties of Whole and Dehulled Mung Beans (Vigna radiata) and Development of Food Gels Incorporated with Kithul (Caryota urenus) Flour

In the present study, proximate and flour properties including thermogravimetric (TGA/DSC) and X-ray defraction (XRD) analysis of whole and dehulled mung bean (Vigna radiata) flours were studied. Moreover, food gels were developed from whole and dehulled mung bean flours with incorporating Kithul palm (Caryota urenus) flour without adding sugar and artificial food additives. According to the proximate analysis, whole Mung bean flour contains (%, dry weight basis); carbohydrates 62.67±0.23, and proteins 29.39±1.52 while hulled mung bean contains (%); carbohydrate 66.27±0.75, and proteins 28.0±4.61 proteins. The TGA/DSC and XRD resulted similar pattern for both whole and hulled mung bean flours. The food gels developed from hulled mung bean flour resulted higher syneresis (18%) than gels from whole mung beans (7%). However, food gels from hulled mung bean flour with incorporated Kithul flour were ranked the highest organoleptic acceptance according to the sensory evaluation. Collectively, the results of the current study suggested that local mung bean flour could be a potential ingredient to develop food gels with incorporating Kithul flour as novel functional foods. The compositional analysis of developed mung bean food gels is in progress. Keywords: food gels, mung bean flour, value-addition, Vigna radiata