Effect of the particle size of pear pomace on the quality of enriched layer and sponge cakes

Upcycling Rocha do Oeste Pear Pomace as a Sustainable Food Ingredient: Composition, Rheological Behavior and Microstructure Alone and Combined with Yeast Protein Extract

This work explores the potential of Rocha do Oeste pear pomace to be used as a sustainable and healthy food ingredient. Moreover, the enrichment with yeast protein extract (YPE) may be useful to design innovative food products. The main goals of this study were to assess pear pomace concerning: (i) chemical composition and antioxidant capacity; (ii) rheology, texture, and microstructure characterization (alone or enriched with YPE), before and after heating. The results showed that pear pomace was a rich source of dietary fibers (74.5% DW), with phenolic compounds (3.9 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents/g dry weight), also presenting antiradical activity (3.90 μmol Trolox equivalents/g DW). Pear pomace showed a shear thinning behavior and a typical soft-gel behavior, which was not affected by YPE enrichment, thus suggesting that YPE did not affect pear pomace technological properties. Thermal treatment also did not alter pear pomace rheological properties. YPE addition induced a decrease in the apparent viscosity and a destabilizing effect, compared to the samples that were subjected to thermal processing. These results highlight the importance of pear pomace and the use of YPE for protein enrichment, opening new opportunities for their exploitation.

Andean crops: kañiwa and tarwi flours used for the development of vegan gluten-free muffins

BACKGROUND

The flours of two Andean crops, tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis) and kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen), present an excellent nutritional profile for inclusion in vegan gluten-free muffin formulations. In this study, the proximal composition and techno-functional properties of tarwi and kañiwa flours, and the technological quality of batters and muffins (potato starch-based) formulated with 50% of these flours were evaluated.

RESULTS

Andean flours have high protein, fiber, and fat content, and display high water and oil absorption. In premixes formulated with potato starch and Andean flours, a reduction in paste viscosity was observed due to starch dilution and lower water availability. Depending on their ability to interact with water, the batters formulated with these flours had a higher consistency. Confocal laser scanning micrographs showed that batters with Andean flours presented a complex matrix with dispersed starch granules surrounded by proteins and fiber fragments. Muffins made with Andean flours had a slightly lower specific volume than the control, but crumb hardness was not modified by tarwi flour (50%) and a mixture of tarwi (25%) and kañiwa (25%) flours. The intrinsic color of these flours modified crumb color, and their reducing sugar content also favored Maillard reactions in the crust. These color changes are desirable in gluten-free products because such products are frequently pale due to their high starch content.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that tarwi and kañiwa flours are suitable for developing vegan, gluten-free muffins of good technological quality and improved nutritional profile, adding value to these underutilized ancestral flours. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of sorghum flour properties on gluten-free sponge cake

As the demand for gluten-free products increases, the use of sorghum flour becomes a good alternative. Sponge cakes are consumed worldwide and suitable for formulations that could replace wheat flour. One of the most influential parameters on sponge cake quality is the flour particle size. In this study, we obtained and characterized different flours by milling white and brown sorghum grains and evaluated the influence of flour characteristics on batter properties and gluten-free sponge cake quality. Flours were produced by pearling, milling and sifting; and were characterized for flour composition, particle size distribution, damaged starch and water absorption. The structure, density, and viscosity of the batters; and specific volume and crumb properties of the sponge cake were evaluated. The results showed that flour composition, and properties were modified by the milling processes. Pasting viscosity increased as the particle size of the flours was reduced. Brown or white sorghum flour with smaller particle size produced high density and viscosity batters with small and homogeneous air bubbles distribution. Independently of the sorghum variety used, smaller particle size flour leads to sponge cakes of high volume and low firmness.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05150-0.

Olive Cake Powder as Functional Ingredient to Improve the Quality of Gluten-Free Breadsticks

The growing demand for high-quality gluten-free baked snacks has led researchers to test innovative ingredients. The aim of this work was to assess the feasibility of olive cake powder (OCP) to be used as a functional ingredient in gluten-free (GF) breadsticks. OCP was used by replacing 1, 2, and 3% of maize flour into GF breadstick production (BS1, BS2, BS3, respectively), and their influence on nutritional, bioactive, textural, and sensorial properties was assessed and compared with a control sample (BSC). BS1, BS2, and BS3 showed a higher lipid, moisture, and ash content. BS2 and BS3 had a total dietary fibre higher than 3 g 100 g⁻¹, achieving the nutritional requirement for it to be labelled as a “source of fibre”. The increasing replacement of olive cake in the formulation resulted in progressively higher total phenol content and antioxidant activity for fortified GF breadsticks. The L* and b* values decreased in all enriched GF breadsticks when compared with the control, while hardness was the lowest in BS3. The volatile profile highlighted a significant reduction in aldehydes, markers of lipid oxidation, and Maillard products (Strecker aldehydes, pyrazines, furans, ketones) in BS1, BS2, and BS3 when compared with BSC. The sensory profile showed a strong influence of OCP addition on GF breadsticks for almost all the parameters considered, with a higher overall pleasantness score for BS2 and BS3.

Waste Bread as Main Ingredient for Cookie Elaboration

Food waste is a current global problem. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of reintroducing bread discarded by retailers in the preparation of sugar-snap cookies. Bread flours were obtained from stale breads (white and whole wheat) milled with 200, 500 and 1000 μm sieves. Cookies were elaborated using 100% bread flours and combinations of 50% of bread flour and wheat flour. The rheology of the doughs, the dimensions of the cookies, their texture and colour were evaluated. Bread flour doughs presented higher G' (elastic modulus), G" (viscous modulus) values than the control, especially with increased particle size. Bread flour cookies had a smaller diameter and a harder texture than the control, but in the case of whole bread flours of larger particle sizes, those differences were reduced. Cookies made with bread flour had a darker colour and higher a* values. The 50% mixtures did not present significant differences with respect to the control in terms of dough rheology, hardness, or lightness. Although the spreading factor was reduced, it was more similar to the control than to 100% bread flour cookies. Wasted bread flour can thus be used to replace wheat flour in cookie formulations.