STUDY ON INTERACTION AMONG EXTRUSION-COOKING PROCESS VARIABLES AND ENZYME ACTIVITY: EVALUATION OF EXTRUDATE STRUCTURE

A blend of wheat flour (moisture content 11.61%) and different amounts of two commercial enzymes like GRINDAMYL (GA) amylase 1000 (0–0.1 g/kg) and GA protease 41 (0–1.0 g/kg) were extruded through a co-rotating twin-screw extruder.
The effects of barrel temperature (60–120C), dough moisture (20–36%), screw speed (100–400 rpm) and different amounts of enzymes on structure of extrudates (porosity and break strength) were studied using response surface methodology.
Results showed that the highest value of porosity (62.47%  ±  4.07) was obtained at the highest value of barrel temperature (120C) and at the largest amounts of GA protease 41 (1.0 g/kg) or GA amylase 1000 (0.1 g/kg). However, the simultaneous addition of large amounts of both enzymes caused a negative effect on expansion degree (porosity  <  30%). Large amounts of moisture dough and GA amylase 1000 resulted in a high value of break strength (25.7 N/mm²) and in stiff-textured extrudates .

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This research could provide some information about the effects of and the interactions between extrusion parameters and enzyme activities, which are commonly used to produce bakery products, in order to improve the texture of extrudates processed at low barrel temperatures, i.e., 60C, for example, extrudates with thermolabile components like vitamins or extrudates with high lipid fraction like breakfast cereals, pet food, etc.     

Instrumental and Sensory Texture Attributes of High‐Protein Nutrition Bars Formulated with Extruded Milk Protein Concentrate

Previous instrumental study of high‐protein nutrition (HPN) bars formulated with extruded milk protein concentrate (MPC) indicated slower hardening compared to bars formulated with unmodified MPC. However, hardness, and its change during storage, insufficiently characterizes HPN bar texture. In this study, MPC80 was extruded at 2 different conditions and model HPN bars were prepared. A trained sensory panel and instrumental techniques were used to measure HPN bar firmness, crumbliness, fracturability, hardness, cohesiveness, and other attributes to characterize texture change during storage. Extrusion modification, storage temperature, and storage time significantly affected the instrumental and sensory panel measured texture attributes. The HPN bars became firmer and less cohesive during storage. When evaluated at the same storage conditions, the texture attributes of the HPN bars formulated with the different extrudates did not differ significantly from each other. However, textural differences were noted most of the time between the control and the HPN bars formulated with extruded MPC80. An adapted HPN bar crumbliness measurement technique produced results that were correlated with sensory panel measured crumbliness (r = 0.85) and cohesiveness (r = –0.84). Overall, the HPN bars formulated with extruded MPC80 were significantly softer, less crumbly, and more cohesive than the control during storage.     

Enzyme—Pretreatment of Pinto Bean High Protein Fraction and Time of Blending Corn Meal Affects Extrudate Properties

High protein fraction of pinto bean, treated with papain and cellulose enzymes (Solvay Enzymes Inc.), was blended with corn meal (30%) and extruded at 120°C. Changes in expansion, texture, color, pH, in vitro protein digestibility, reducing sugars and functional properties of extmdates were recorded. Changes depended on type of enzymes and time of corn incorporation (before or after enzymatic pretreatment). The best texture of the extrudates was obtained using a cellulase enzyme. Papain affected some functional properties such as NSI and WSI. The best improvement in in vitro protein digestibility and reducing sugars was found with a cellulase treatment. Protein and fiber could be modified to improve physicochemical and functional properties of extrudates.     

Extrusion of Pinto Bean High Protein Fraction Pretreated with Papain and Cellulase Enzymes

High protein fraction of pinto bean was pretreated with papain and cellulase enzymes and extruded at a temperature of 120°C. The effect of enzyme type and concentration, moisture and duration of incubation on expansion, texture, color, water absorption and solubility, pH, sugars, nitrogen solubility index and in vitro protein digestibility of the extrudate were investigated. Enzymatic modification had differential effects on nitrogen and carbohydrate components and on some physical and functional preperties of extrudates, depending on type of enzyme and incubation conditions. Results indicated the possibility of controlling protein and fiber hydrolysis at low moisture to obtain a desirable degree of modification to improve extruded products. This method may be used in food applications to obtain new snack type products from beans or their fractions.     

EFFECTS OF CORN MEAL, VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN, HIGH AMYLOSE STARCH AND EXTRUSION PARAMETERS ON TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF WHEAT-BASED EXTRUDED BREADING

A wheat‐based extruded breading was produced using a Brabender single‐screw laboratory scale extruder (model GNF 1014/2) and applied to chicken nuggets. Response surface methodology was applied to study and optimize the effects of formulation and extrusion parameters on pick up, texture, solid loss, oil absorption and adhesiveness of fried coated nuggets. An optimized extruded breading was produced at 160C, 27% moisture content, 15% vital wheat gluten, 8% high amylose starch and 30% corn meal. The product showed pick up of 29.87%, adhesiveness of 100%, texture of 166.1 g, oil absorption of 2.97% and solid losses of 0.0885 absolute. The product presented similar values of pick up and adhesiveness, better texture, lower oil absorption and higher solid loss during deep‐frying, compared with commercial breadings. Acceptance test showed that the product had better overall appearance and fairly similar texture, compared with the commercial ones.     

Characterisation of Brown and Milled Yellow Rice and Development of an Expanded Snack

Brown rice and yellow milled rice were characterised in relation to milling properties, cooking, processing quality and microbial testing, and utilised to develop an expanded snack. The extrusion process was done in a Mapimpianti single screw cooker-extruder. A flour sample feed rate of 70 g (dry matter) min⁻¹ was maintained by varying the force-feeder speed. A screw speed of 150 rev min⁻¹ and a die with 20 die-nozzle orifices (2 mm in dia) were used. The die zone was heated at 110°C by electrical resistance. Compressed air was circulate around the barrel to maintain precise control of the temperature. The moisture content of the samples was 120, 150 and 180 g kg⁻¹. The grains were classified as long-thin with an average size of 2·13 mm×6·79 mm. The milling yields obtained in the laboratory with paddy rice were 700 g kg⁻¹ brown rice and 600 g kg⁻¹ milled rice. Brown rice and yellow milled rice had similar amylose contents, 225 and 256 g kg⁻¹, respectively. Gel consistency was soft with low gelatinisation temperature (63–68°C) for both samples. Field fungi such as Helminthosporium oryzae and storage fungi as Aspergillus spp were present in paddy, yellow milled and commercial rice. Helminthosporium oryzae was not present in extruded products. The extruded products showed low density and a high degree of expansion, with the optimum degree of expansion obtained in flours processed with moisture at 150 g kg⁻¹ in both milled and brown rice. The highest values for water solubility index were obtained with flours from milled yellow rice and none of the extruded products showed significant differences on water absorption index. Sensory analyses carried out on the snack products showed them to be acceptable, with the bent acceptance for products made from milled yellow rice processed with 150 g kg⁻¹ moisture.     

PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACIDIC PROTEASES FROM THE STOMACH OF THE DEEPWATER FINFISH ORANGE ROUGHY (HOPLOSTETHUS ATLANTICUS)

Acidic proteases were extracted and purified from the stomach of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus). Protease I and II were glycoproteins with molecular weights of 33.5 and 34.5 KDa, respectively. Protease I had an isoelectric point of 5.30. The two forms of protease II (a and b) had isoelectric points of 4.35 and 4.40, respectively, and N-terminal sequence identity for 12 amino acids. The proteases exhibited optimal temperature activity at 37C. They had high activity at low temperatures and low thermal stability compared to mammalian pepsins. They were stable in the pH range of 2–4.5 and unstable above pH 6.5. Protease I and II had pH optima of 2.5 and 3.5, respectively, and K _m’values for the hydrolysis of hemoglobin (pH 3.0, 37C) of 124 μM and 517 μM, respectively. Enzyme activities were inhibited by pepstatin A and high NaCl concentrations, and were slightly stimulated by Ca²⁺ and Cu²⁺.     

High pressure thermal processing of pears: Effect on endogenous enzyme activity and related quality attributes

The effect of high pressure-thermal (HPT) processing (600 MPa, 20–100 °C) on the activity of pear enzymes and related quality attributes was investigated. HPT processing at 20 °C for 5 min resulted in 32%, 74% and 51% residual activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) and pectin methylesterase (PME), respectively. Increasing processing temperature to 40 and 60 °C reduced the level of PPO and POD inactivation, with the maximum residual activities of 64% and 123%, respectively observed after 3-min treatments at 40 and 60 °C. Overall, HPT at 20 to 60 °C had minimal effect on quality, although enzymatic browning was observed upon air exposure. HPT at 80 to 100 °C caused almost complete inactivation of PPO and POD with 90% and 92% inactivation respectively after 3-min processing at 100 °C, which reduced browning upon air exposure. Nevertheless, the lowest texture retention of 22% was observed under this condition.Industrial relevanceThe study examined the effects of combined high pressure thermal processing on quality related pear enzymes and related instrumental quality attributes such as colour and texture. The study enabled identification of processing regimes for enzyme inactivation and quality retention. The excellent quality retention following HPP at 20 to 40 °C makes this condition suitable for ‘fresh-like’ small portion products for immediate consumption after unpacking that do not require complete PPO and POD inactivation. On the other hand, the almost complete inactivation of oxidative enzymes PPO and POD at 100 °C makes this condition more appropriate for the production of bulk products for food service applications or pureed ingredients for baby food, or pear pieces for yoghurt, that require PPO inhibition but not necessarily high firmness retention.     

A New Method for Characterizing Fiber Formation in Meat Analogs during High-moisture Extrusion

ABSTRACT: A noninvasive method based on fluorescence polarization spectroscopy was developed to measure the fiber formation of extruded meat analogs. Soy protein, wheat gluten, and unmodified wheat starch were mixed and extruded at high moisture conditions to form meat analogs with 60% to 72% moisture (w.b.). This newly developed method and a texture analyzer were used to analyze the fiber formation of extruded products as well as samples collected from different zones in the extruder and cooling die upon a dead-stop operation. The results indicated that the texture profile analysis could not adequately describe the fiber formation while the new method showed good agreements with results obtained from visual inspection and digital imaging of the dissected samples.     

Impact of ripening stages of banana flour on the quality of extruded products

The study investigated the physical, nutritional and sensory properties of different ripening stages of banana during extrusion processing in combination with rice flour to develop quality snack products. Dehydrated banana flours at ripening stages 4, 5 and 6 (peel colour) were mixed separately at 40% banana to 60% rice flour levels. The mixtures were extruded through a twin-screw extruder at 120 °C barrel temperature, 220 and 260 r.p.m, screw speed and 12% feed moisture. Increase in ripeness indicated negative effect on expansion and water absorption capacity while increasing the water solubility index and moisture retention (wet basis) of the products. Protein and mineral (except for zinc and copper) content of the products were significantly different ( P  < 0.05) from 4 to 6 of the ripening stages. Most of the essential amino acids in the extruded products increased significantly ( P  < 0.05) at the ripening stage of 6. All the products were within the acceptable range in the 9-point Hedonic scale showing the best texture and flavour scores for stage 4 and 6, respectively. The extruded products show potential as snack products because of their nutritional quality and sensory acceptability.     

Glass Transition of Extruded Wheat,Corn and Rice Starch

Commercial wheat, corn and rice starch were extrusion cooked under a specific mechanical energy input (SME) ranging from 81 to 365 Wh/kg (288 to 1314 kJ/kg). Extrusion cooking at low and high SME resulted in products having significant differences in molecular weight distribution and having crystalline structures of the V‐ and E‐type, as determined by gel permeation chromatography and X‐ray diffraction analysis. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the extruded starches was independent of the botanical source, the degree of extrusion‐induced molecular fragmentation and the formation of the V‐ and E‐type crystalline structures. The obtained master curve, defined by the relationship between water content and T_g of the amorphous starch, may be used as a predictive tool in modelling the extrusion process of starch or starch containing blends, especially with regard to the formation of the morphological structure and texture attributes of directly expanded products.     

The effects of using a starter culture,lipase, and protease enzymes on ripening of Mihalic cheese

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fungal lipase from Mucor miehei and a bacterial neutral protease from Bacillus subtilis alone and combined with a starter culture on ripening properties of traditional Turkish Mihalic cheese. The use of protease with lipase (Cult + Prot + Lip) resulted in better flavour and texture with accelerated ripening. The obtained results pointed out that the gross compositions of the cheeses were changed by the type of enzymes and ripening time (P < 0.01). The acid degree value (ADV) of all cheeses showed a linear increase with ripening. The highest lipolysis rate was noted in lipase‐added cheese batch (as 5.56 ADV) with highest γ‐CN ratio and β‐CN degradation. At the end of ripening time, it was observed that αs‐CN ratios decreased in starter‐added (Cult), starter + protease–added (Cult + Prot), and protease‐added (Prot) cheese batches. The use of protease with lipase (Cult + Prot + Lip) resulted in better flavour and texture with accelerated ripening. Protease‐added cheeses, which were characterized by bitterness and crumbly textural properties owing to the intense breakdown of β‐casein, scored lower than lipase‐added cheeses. It was determined that the use of mesophilic aromatic starter culture with lipase and protease could be used to accelerate ripening of Mihalic cheese made from pasteurised milk.     

Extrusion cooking of barley flour and process parameter optimization by using response surface methodology

BACKGROUND: The nutritional profile of barley places it in a prime position for development of a new extruded–expanded snack food with health benefits. It was therefore the aim to investigate the effect of extrusion processing variables on system parameters (specific mechanical energy, die pressure and die melt temperature) and physical properties (expansion, bulk density, texture and color) of barley flour extrudates and to optimize processing conditions for production of extruded snack food from barley flour by response surface methodology. RESULTS: Barley flour with 219.7 g kg^?1 moisture content was extruded at different die temperatures (140–160 °C) and screw speeds (150–200 rpm) through a co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder. The system parameters as well as product responses were mainly dependent on temperature, whereas the screw speed imparted a lesser effect. Extrudates produced under extrusion conditions of 160 °C, 150 and 200 rpm and at 164 °C and 150 rpm had higher preference levels of appearance, taste, texture and overall acceptability than that of other selected extrudates for sensory analysis. The optimal conditions for minimum bulk density and desired textural characteristics and color of extrudates correspond to a temperature of 156 °C and screw speed of 166 rpm. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that use of barley flour in extruded snack products offers a desirable variation in diet and can take advantage of the nutritional quality of barley. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

SINGLE-SCREW EXTRUSION OF PORK AND SOY FLOUR BLEND

This study examined the rheological properties of defatted soy flour and lean pork blend of various moisture contents extruded in a single-screw extruder and the sensory texture property of extruded meat analogs as the first step to develop commercial low-cost meat analogs that not only resemble real meats but have excellent sensory textures. Additional work was also conducted to examine the effect of moisture content of soy flour under the extrusion condition (high temperature and pressure) on the fiber structure and overall texturization of the extrudate as a result of changes in chemical bonds between soy proteins. The mixture of soy meal with ground lean pork showed significant decrease in viscosity as compared with either soy meal or ground meat alone. The best sensory texture was obtained for the pork-soy flour blend with 41. 3% moisture content at screw speed of 180 rpm under the feeding-metering-die temperature setting of 140–170–80C.     

Dynamic mechanical properties and fractal analysis of texturized soybean protein/wheat gluten composite produced by high moisture extrusion

Texturized soybean protein (TSP) and wheat gluten were prepared at high moisture using a twin-screw extruder. Effects of feed moisture content, extrusion temperature and wheat gluten content on the dynamic mechanical properties, microstructures and fractal analysis of texturized soybean protein/wheat gluten composite were investigated. All extruded samples were well fitted with Burger's model in creep-recovery tests (R² ≥ 0.978). The creep-recovery rate decreased with an increasing extrusion temperature. The addition of wheat gluten increased the resistance to creep and the unrecoverable deformation of TSP samples. The extrusion parameters affected the microstructure and morphology of extruded products. The fractal dimension of TSP products decreased with an increase in moisture content and wheat gluten content. Texturized soybean protein (TSP) and wheat gluten composite could form well-structure products.     

Impact of Guar and Wheat Bran on the Physical and Nutritional Quality of Extruded Breakfast Cereals

Two non‐starch polysaccharides, guar gum and wheat bran, were used at 15% replacement level in a cereal base to produce an extruded breakfast cereal product from both wholemeal and high‐ratio wheat flour mixes. The inclusion of the non‐starch polysaccharides into the flour bases had no significant effect on the expansion ratio of the products. However, the product density and bulk density of the extruded products increased with guar gum and wheat bran addition. The pasting properties of the raw flour and polysaccharide base as well as the extruded products were altered with the incorporation of polysaccharides, with guar gum‐enriched products showing elevated peak and final viscosity readings. This appeared to be related to moisture manipulation and hence the regulation of gelatinisation. In vitro starch hydrolysis of the raw bases and the extruded samples illustrated that the extrusion process significantly increased the availability of carbohydrates for digestion. Additionally, the inclusion of non‐starch polysaccharides in the raw bases significantly reduced the rate and extent of carbohydrate hydrolysis. This potentially glycaemic reducing action was also evident in the extruded products where the incorporation of guar gum at 15% yielded a reduction of starch hydrolysis of 36% in the wholemeal base and 32% in the high‐ratio white wheat flour base.     

Characterization of a novel protease from Bacillus cereus and evaluation of an eco‐friendly hydrolysis of a brewery byproduct

Proteases and proteolytic enzymes constitute one of the most important groups of enzymes and are attracting worldwide attention in attempts to exploit their physiological and biotechnological applications. In this study, partial purifications and biochemical and antimicrobial characterizations of a protease from Bacillus cereus spp., originally isolated from fermented cabbage, were carried out. The crude extract obtained after purification, involving ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis, was designated as a partially purified protease (PPP). The obtained PPP had a specific activity of 0.395–2.539 U/g at 32 °C, with maximum activities for the fractions precipitated at 60 and 80% ammonium sulphate. The PPP activity ranged between 20 and 55 °C, with an optimum temperature at 40 °C. At 60 °C, the PPP retained more than 30% of its activity. The optimum pH for the PPP was achieved at pH 9, indicating the alkaline source of the enzyme. Protease production was specifically dependent on the calcium concentration in the culture medium. Also the robustness of the protease on brewer's spent grain hydrolysis was demonstrated. This suggests a potential eco‐friendly application of the enzyme. Finally, it was found that the PPP inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7. This novel property of the PPP liberated by the B. cereus spp. could provide important future benefits to industry. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

UNMALTED CEREAL PRODUCTS FOR BEER BREWING. PART I. THE USE OF HIGH PERCENTAGES OF EXTRUDED OR REGULAR CORN STARCH AND SORGHUM

On the basis of results obtained in micro-brews four beers were produced on a 50 litre scale with 50% of the following adjunct materials: debranned sorghum, extruded debranned sorghum, corn starch and extruded corn starch. The extruded materials were processed in an infusion mash while the regular adjuncts were submitted to a preliminary boil, followed by a cooling step (to 45°C) and a subsequent infusion mash. The results indicate a normal fermentation in all cases, no impact of extrusion upon the colloidal stability and the colour of the resulting beers although the saccharification and filtration rates are seriously impaired during the production process inter alia due to the presence of intact starch granules in the extruded products. If these problems could be overcome, it seems perfectly possible to produce beers with high percentages of extruded adjuncts containing no nitrogeneous substances. Indeed, extrusion of debranned sorghum leads to the presence in beer of nitrogen containing compounds (e.g. alkylpyrazines) responsible for highly obnoxious flavours described by a professional taste panel as giving “artificial”, “coffee”, “burnt” or “caramel” odours. These negative flavour characteristics are absent in the beer produced with 50% of extruded corn starch.     

Protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid scores,acceptability and storage stability of ready‐to‐eat supplementary foods for pre‐school age children in Tanzania

This study was conducted to evaluate protein quality, acceptability and storage stability of processed cereal–bean–sardine composite foods for pre‐school age children in Tanzania. Four composite products namely corn–bean–sardine meal (CBSM), bean meal (BM), sorghum–bean–sardine meal (SBSM) and rice–bean–sardine meal (RBSM) were formulated to maximize the amino acid score for pre‐school age children and were processed by extrusion, drum‐processing and conventional cooking. The products were evaluated for true protein digestibility (TPD) and protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). The TPD and PDCAAS were highest in the extruded products. The TPD values for the products ranged from 82 to 93%. The PDCAAS values for the composite foods were 64–86% and were greater than the minimum value of 60% recommended by FAO/WHO/UNU. There were no significant (p > 0.05) variations in the amino acid contents for foods processed by extrusion, drum‐processing or conventional cooking. Threonine was most limiting in the CBSM, SBSM and RBSM while methionine + cysteine were most limiting in the BM. Sensory evaluation showed that, relative to the traditional cornmeal—Uji, the extruded CBSM and SBSM had significantly superior (p ≤ 0.05) texture and highly acceptable color and taste. Storage of the products up to 16 weeks at 38 °C resulted in a small but significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) in the malondialdehyde concentrations; nevertheless, the levels remained within the acceptable range found in processed commercial supplements. Total acids, pH and organoleptic attributes did not change significantly (p > 0.05) during storage and the foods were acceptable to the end of the storage period. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry