Influence of tef flour and its association with other flours on the nutritional,technological, and sensory quality of bakery products

The objective of this study was to investigate chemical, technological, and sensory quality of tef in products made exclusively with tef flour and tef flour associated with other flours. The selection of the studies and the extraction of information were carried out through research in several databases. Tef flour was used in cakes, cookies, breads, cupcakes, muffins, and extruded snacks. Bread was the most evaluated product with tef flour associated with other flours or exclusively. Most of the outcomes were with tef (5–50%) associated with other flours. Increased levels of fibers, minerals, antioxidant capacity, and flavonoids were noted according to the percentage of tef. Technological characteristics demonstrated that these products showed intermediate final quality, due to the characteristics of volume, specific volume, firmness, and luminosity. Regarding sensory quality, studies that used (5–35%) tef flour associated with other flours were well-accepted.     

Effect of Sucrose Addition and Heat Treatment on Egg Albumen Protein Gelation

ABSTRACT: Studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of sucrose (0% to 60% w/w) on the heat denaturation and gelation of egg albumen solutions (pH 7.0) by thermal analysis and rheological measurements. Temperature and frequency sweeps were carried out under small deformations to determine the temperature at which structure development began (T_s) and the storage modulus plateau (G₀), respectively. The latter was used to estimate the molecular weight of the internal chains between cross-links (M_c) using the rubber elasticity theory. Gels were prepared under several heat intensities (70, 80, and 90°C/30 min), and the mechanical properties were determined under small (stress relaxation) and large (stress and strain at fracture) deformations. It was observed that increments in sucrose concentration could act in the stabilization of the proteins, promoting a significant increase in the onset values and temperature of denaturation. The gelling process showed aT_s increase with higher sucrose concentration. Gelation and the gel mechanical properties and network density showed a strong dependence on sucrose concentration and heat treatment temperature. In a general way, the sucrose promoted an improvement in the gel network up to a determined value of sugar concentration. At higher sugar concentrations, the values for the rheological properties decreased, which could be related to an incomplete unfolding of the oval-bumin under these conditions.     

Processing parameter optimization for obtaining dry beans with reduced cooking time

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of processing beans by soaking and blanching in salt solutions on the quality parameters of the common bean and, in order to obtain a dry product with a reduced cooking time using experimental design techniques. A Plackett and Burman design was used to evaluate the effects of nine factors, soaking, blanching and drying under different conditions, in bean processing. A central composite rotational 2³ design was used with the factors of soaking time, concentration of NaHCO₃ and drying temperature. An increase in the concentration of NaHCO₃ from 0 to 4 g.100⁻¹ mL reduced the cooking time by 10 min. However, increasing the NaHCO₃ concentration increased the level of damage to the product and darkened the bean seed coat, producing greater color differences in the processed bean. The selected conditions for the production of dry quick cooking beans was a time of 13.1 h, a concentration of NaHCO₃ in the soaking solution of 2.3 g.100 mL⁻¹ and a drying temperature of 50 °C. Under the select conditions, it was possible to reduce the cooking time by 53%, with of 5.36 g.100 g⁻¹ of damaged grains and color difference of 8.39.