Effect of processing methods on quality and acceptability of fufu from low cyanide cassava

The effects of steeping whole and grated tubers and of periodic change of water during steeping on the quality and acceptability of fufu from low-cyanide cassava were evaluated. Steeping increased the acidity and reduced the pH and cyanide content of cassava. Grating the tuber before steeping improved aroma, and periodical change of water during steeping improved taste, colour and texture of fufu over that produced by the traditional method. Fufu from low-cyanide cassava had an acceptability similar to that of fufu from high-cyanide cassava. However, oven drying of the flour significantly reduced acceptability of fufu.     

EFFECT OF LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION OF CASSAVA ON FUNCTIONAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF FUFU FLOUR

The effects of lactic acid fermentation of cassava on the functional and sensory characteristic of fufu flour were investigated. Two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum were used as starter cultures for the fermentation of cassava to fufu for 96   h. The resultant wet fufu samples were dried at 65C in a cabinet dryer for 48   h, and were analyzed for functional and sensory characteristics.
Fermentation reduced the water-binding capacity of the fufu flour from 176.6% to between 118 and 125%. The pasting characteristics of the traditional and starter culture-fermented fufu flour samples were not significantly different from that of the unfermented cassava flour. When subjected to sensory evaluation, the traditional and starter culture-fermented cassava fufu flour were not significantly different in terms of color, odor and texture, but the cassava fufu flour produced, using starter culture SL19, had the highest overall acceptability ( P <  0.05).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Traditionally, processing of cassava to fufu is usually carried out by using the old stock from a previous fermentation to initiate the fermentation of a new batch. This old method usually results in fufu that has a strong odor that may not be acceptable to some consumers. The use of starter culture like Lactobacillus plantarum will reduce the strong odor of fufu ; this will increase its acceptability by consumers and ensure the overall quality. Also, the functional properties of fufu are not affected. The development of lactobacilli strains could help in optimizing the traditional processes, therefore increasing the economic returns.     

PREDICTION OF THE SENSORY TEXTURE OF A YAM THICK PASTE (AMALA) USING INSTRUMENTAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS

Amala is a traditional thick paste consumed in West Africa (Nigeria, Bénin, Togo). It is prepared from blanched dried yam flour and has a particular texture. The texture attributes of amala pastes obtained from market and prepared in laboratory were sensorily evaluated. Both compression and extrusion tests were done from which maxima force and slope were calculated. The physical (particle size), starch characteristics and functional properties (solubility, swelling power [Sp], viscosity) of yam flours were also determined to establish a predictive model for amala sensory texture attributes. The main amala sensory attributes were stickiness, firmness and smoothness. Stickiness and firmness could be assessed by uniaxial extrusion test: These attributes were highly correlated with the maximum extrusion slope (r = ?0.60 and r = 0.53, respectively). Stickiness was associated with yam flour Sp, which in turn was related to gelatinization temperature and enthalpy changes. In addition, soluble matter and soluble amylose were found to be indicators of amala sensory stickiness. No clear relationships were observed between sensory firmness and yam flour physicochemical characteristics or functional properties.     

New opportunities for gluten-free diet:teff (Eragrostis tef) as fibre source in baking products

This study assessed physicochemical parameters of high fibre and gluten-free breads made with teff and associated flours. Four breads samples were developed: wheat flour (T1), teff flour (T2), teff flour + cassava starch + rice flour (T3 and T4). Hedonic evaluation of sensory attributes characterising the samples was performed by coeliac and non-coeliac subjects. Breads made with different percentages of teff flour showed huge amount of total and insoluble fibres. The wheat bread presented the highest values for pH and the texture parameters analysed, except for crumb hardness and elasticity. The sensory analysis showed that all samples made with teff were well accepted by coeliac and non-coeliac subjects. Purchase intention and the acceptability index suggested a potential market success for the developed products. Teff flour showed promising use for its technological and nutritional values as well as sensory properties, supporting the hypothesis that it is possible to develop new gluten-free bakery products without decreasing consumers’ satisfaction.     

Emulsifiers affect the texture of pastes made from fermented and non-fermented cassava flours†

The effects of glycerol monostearate (GMS) and sodium steroyl lactylate (SSL) on the rheological properties of native, naturally fermented (NF) and mixed culture fermented (MCF) cassava flour pastes were measured using instrumental texture profile analysis (TPA) and by finger cohesiveness (difficulty in separation). Fermentation reduced the TPA parameters, hardness, cohesiveness and gumminess, but not springiness/elasticity. These were reduced further when either GMS or SSL were incorporated into the pastes. Pastes made from native and naturally fermented flours were scored by a Cameroonian sensory panel as difficult to separate, whereas scores for native and fermented flour pastes treated with 1% or more of GMS or SSL were easy to separate. Increased internal stability of the cassava flour starch granules was suggested as the cause of the effects.     

Physical and sensory characteristics of cookies prepared with flaxseed flour

BACKGROUND: Flaxseed has many health benefits and is considered a functional food ingredient. Flaxseed flour (0–18%) was used to partially replace wheat flour in cookies and its effects on the physical and sensory characteristics of the cookies were investigated. A correlation analysis was conducted between the instrumental and sensory data. RESULTS: The cookie dough stickiness significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in relation to higher percentages of flaxseed flour. The 18% flaxseed cookies had the firmest texture, darkest color and lowest water activity. The 18% flaxseed cookies had the greatest spread ratio. However, this resulted in cookies of unacceptable quality properties. In consumer acceptance tests, cookies made with 6% and 12% flaxseed flour had the highest rating among all sensory attributes, while the 18% flaxseed cookies had the lowest sensory scores. The flavor attribute was most highly correlated with the overall acceptability (r = 0.90). CONCLUSION: Results indicated that flaxseed flour can be incorporated in cookies as a partial replacement up to 12% of wheat flour without negatively affecting the physical and sensory quality. The correlation results suggest that the flaxseed flavor attributes best predict consumer preference for overall acceptability, though texture and color attributes also contribute. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Correlations between objective quality parameters and Korean sensory perceptions of dry salted wheat noodles

Abstract

A range of objective quality parameters from 10 diverse Australian wheats were evaluated for their relationship with previously reported data on sensory evaluation by Korean consumers of white salted noodles made from the wheats. These parameters were protein content, Falling Number and hardness for the wheats, protein content, Amylograph peak height, swelling power and Minolta colour for the flours, colour and cooking time for the dry noodle, and Minolta colour and texture measured by cutting force for the cooked noodle. For colour, significant correlations with Korean consumer preference were an inverse relationship with cooked noodle L? value but a direct relationship with flour L? value, and an inverse relationship with flour b? value. There was also a significant negative correlation between Korean consumer preferences and cutting force. The results suggest that Korean consumers prefer noodles made from white flour and with soft texture when cooked. Contrary to current views, no significant correlations existed between sensory scores of Korean consumers and either Brabender viscosity and flour swelling power.     

Physicochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptance of Wheat-Germinated Brown Rice Bread during Storage Time

Abstract: Selected physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of bread prepared from composite flour (wheat:germinated brown rice:germinated glutinous brown rice flours at 60:30:10 ratio) were evaluated during storage for 0, 3, and 5 d, and compared with wheat bread (0 d, control). During storage, color profiles and water activity (from 0.947 to 0.932) of crumbs of composite flour breads slightly changed, but moisture content drastically decreased along with increasing crumb hardness (from 4.16 N to 10.37 N). Higher retrogradation in bread crumb was observed particularly for 5-d stored bread (ΔH = 2.24 J/g) compared to that of the fresh composite bread and the control (ΔH = 0.70 and 0.51 J/g, respectively). Mean (n = 116) overall liking score of the fresh composite flour bread (0 d) was slightly lower than that of the control (7.1 compared with 7.6 based on a 9-point hedonic scale). At least 76% of consumers would purchase the fresh composite flour bread if commercially available. Breads were differentiated by textural (moistness, smoothness, and softness) acceptability with canonical correlation of 0.84 to 0.87. The signal-to-noise ratio values of the 5-d stored breads were lower than the control, due mainly to the non-JAR (not-enough) intensity responses for moistness, smoothness, and softness; the mean drop of liking scores for these attributes ranged from 2.42 to 2.98. Flavor acceptability and overall liking were factors influencing consumers’ purchase intent of composite flour breads based on logistic regression analysis. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation. Practical Application: Our previous study revealed that flours from germinated brown rice have better nutritional properties, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), than the nongerminated one. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation. In the current U.S. market, this type of bread may be sold as frozen bread that would have a longer shelf life, or may be supplied as a food-service product that would be made-to-order or made fresh daily as currently practiced in some major grocery stores.     

Consumer acceptability and purchase intent of probiotic yoghurt with added glucose oxidase using sensometrics,artificial neural networks and logistic regression

This research aimed to identify the drivers of acceptance and purchase intent of a probiotic (Bifidobacterium longum BL05) nonflavoured yoghurt supplemented with glucose oxidase, and to model the consumers’ acceptability using sensometrics and artificial neural networks (ANN). Consumers (n = 100) evaluated the degree of liking of yoghurt assays in respect of appearance, aroma, taste, texture and overall linking. Sensometric techniques – multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least squares regression (PLS), principal component regression (PCR) – and ANN were used to model the overall liking. Sensory drivers of global acceptance and purchase intent were also determined using logistic regression (LR). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) identified three consumer segments that presented differences in all sensory attributes evaluated (P < 0.05). The ANN model showed the best performance to predict overall liking, followed by the MLR, PLS and PCR, indicating that taste and texture were the most significant attributes impacting the yoghurts overall liking. In accordance with the logistic models, overall acceptance and purchase intent could be predicted with 81.94 and 85.49% accuracy, respectively. The logistic regression indicated that taste was the attribute that contributed significantly (P < 0.0001) to higher scores for purchase intent and was considered the driver of acceptance.     

SOME TEXTURAL, SENSORY AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF EXPANDED SNACK FOOD WAFERS MADE FROM CORN, LENTIL AND OTHER INGREDIENTS

Crisp expanded wafers were produced from extruded pellets containing specialty starches and flours derived from peas, lentils, corn and blends of lentils and corn. The density, hardness and consumer acceptability of the wafers varied with the different ingredients. The most acceptable products were produced from corn, lentils and blends of these two ingredients. The weight, density, stiffness and hardness of the wafers increased with the proportion of lentil flour used to make them. Sensory analysis suggested that consumer acceptability was optimal for blends containing between 40 and 80% of lentil flour. Stiffness and fracture force measured by texture profile analysis were correlated with the sensory attributes of hardness and toughness. The glycemic potential measured by in vitro digestion of the wafers was lower for the 100% lentil wafers compared with the 100% corn wafers because of the amount of starch in the grain. For combinations of corn and lentils, the carbohydrate digestion rate, and hence the glycemic potential, was lower than for either 100% corn or 100% lentil wafers. Blending of selected cereal flour ingredients should be a useful method for reducing the glycemic impact of cooked starchy snacks.     

Consumer Acceptance of Ozone-Treated Whole Shell Eggs

ABSTRACT: Ozone-based processing is a novel technology with potentially fewer adverse effects than in-shell thermal pasteurization of eggs. There are no consumer acceptance studies published on ozone-treated eggs. This study examines consumers’ ability to detect changes between ozone-treated, thermal-treated, and fresh untreated eggs. Consumers (n = 111) evaluated visual attributes of uncooked eggs and a separate group of consumers (n = 132) evaluated acceptability of cooked eggs. Consumers evaluated attribute intensity of the eggs. The yolks and albumens of the thermal-treated and ozone-treated eggs were perceived to be significantly cloudier than the untreated control, while the ozone-treated eggs were more similar to control (P < 0.05). The yolks of ozone-treated eggs were perceived to have significantly lower heights and greater spreads than the others (P < 0.05). Despite these perceptions, overall visual appeal of ozone-treated eggs was not significantly different from control eggs. A separate set of consumers used hedonic scales to evaluate overall liking, appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture of cooked eggs. Just-about-right (JAR) scales were used to rate the color, moistness, and texture. There were no differences on any attribute scores between the treatments, except thermal-treated and ozone-treated were perceived as less moist than the control. There were no adverse effects on consumer acceptance of eggs, treated with ozone, with acceptance the same as an untreated control. These findings are useful as ozone pasteurization can enhance the safety of fresh shell eggs to meet the goals of the U.S. Egg Safety Action Plan. Practical Application: The U.S. Egg Safety Action Plan requires all shell eggs to be pasteurized to prevent foodborne illness. Heat pasteurization partially cooks the egg, so an alternative process uses ozone with less heat. This study shows the ozone pasteurization has no detectable sensory defects.