Mechanical properties of protein‐stabilized starch‐based supercritical fluid extrudates

Nitrogen Gas-Assisted Extrusion for Improving the Physical Quality of Pea Protein-Enriched Corn Puffs with a Wide Range of Protein Contents

Blowing agent-assisted extrusion cooking is a novel processing technique that can alter the expansion of extruded snacks and, thus, enhance their physical appeal, such as texture. However, to this day, this technique has only been studied for ingredients with limited protein contents (<30%). In this study, protein-enriched snacks were extruded using nitrogen gas as a blowing agent at a wide protein range (0-50%) to better explore the potential of this technique in manufacturing high-protein snacks. The results showed that, with nitrogen gas injection, extrudate radial expansion was significantly (p < 0.05) improved at 10% and 40% protein, while extrudate density was significantly reduced at 30% and 50% protein. Nitrogen gas-injected extrudates, especially at 50% protein, exhibited improvements in texture, including a reduction in hardness and an increase in crispness. Collectively, this study showed the promising potential of nitrogen gas-assisted extrusion in improving the physical appeal of innovative healthy snacks at a high protein level (i.e., 50%).

Supercritical Fluids and the Food Industry

This paper reviews the use of supercritical fluids in various aspects of the food industry, and is divided into six different areas: modeling of supercritical fluids, separation of extracted material, supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent for extraction, supercritical fluids and analytical uses, and supercritical fluids and novel methods of food processing. An assortment of solutes are covered in the extraction section of the paper, including antineoplastic agents and lipids. The analytical methods section covers supercritical fluid chromatography, pesticide detection, and lipid analysis. The novel methods section discusses supercritical fluid extrusion and a new method of eliminating hexane from soybean oil.