Soybean-Enriched Snacks Based on African Rice.

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Developing nutritious snacks from plant-based proteins and local grains is crucial for food security.
• Extrusion processing offers a versatile method for creating diverse food textures and products.
• Understanding the impact of ingredient composition and processing on snack quality is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the production of snacks using blends of partially-defatted soybean flour and African rice flour (milled or parboiled).
• To analyze the relationship between ingredient composition, extrusion processing, and snack sensory attributes.
• To evaluate the role of soybean proteins in the product's protein network structure.

Main Methods:

• Extrusion processing of soybean and rice flour blends.
• Sensory evaluation and instrumental analysis (electronic nose, electronic tongue).
• Molecular and rheological analyses to characterize the protein network.

Main Results:

• Soybean proteins significantly influenced the protein network structure of the extruded snacks.
• Incorporating parboiled rice flour, at equivalent soybean flour levels, resulted in increased snack hardness.
• Electronic nose and tongue effectively distinguished between snacks with varying soybean flour concentrations.

Conclusions:

• Snack texture and quality are significantly affected by the type of rice flour and soybean content.
• Electronic sensing technologies can be valuable tools for quality control in extruded snack production.
• Optimized blends of soybean and African rice flours can yield snacks with desirable sensory characteristics.