Effect of Finger Millet on Nutritional, Rheological, Cooking and Pasting Profile of Asian Noodles

Ronak Tanwar, Anil Panghal, Anju Kumari and Navnidhi Chhikara

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Asian noodles are cost-effective, appealing, affordable, and convenient snack food consumed worldwide, and are good source of protein and energy. However, the major ingredient of Asian noodles is wheat, and these wheat-based noodles are deficient in dietary fiber and micronutrients. Finger millet (FM) being rich in various micronutrients and dietary fiber, can be used to improve the nutritional value of noodles and can be used commercially to provide food security. The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of blending FM flour (FMF) with wheat flour on noodle quality attributes.
Findings: Noodles were prepared with a blend of FMF (ranging from 0 – 60%) and wheat flour and studied for nutritional physicochemical analysis, functional properties, cooking attributes and overall sensory qualities. When 60% FMF was added to noodles, it resulted in higher content of crude fiber (2.87%), dietary fiber (11.68%), amylopectin (38.53%), and increase in pasting temperature (74.70 ºC), browning index (BI) (1.95), hardness (320.25 g), cooking loss (20.41%), and cooking time (190 s) was observed. The study conclusively revealed that dough for noodles with 60% FMF incorporation had poor sheeting properties and springiness. FM’s redness and high phenol content resulted in decreased L* (80.26 – 51.89) and b* (18.56 – 5.34) values. The overall acceptability was reduced from 9.42 – 7.64 during sensory evaluation by semi-trained panelists. The investigation concluded that 30% incorporation of FMF produced dough with good sheeting properties and functional characteristics and resulted in good quality noodles preparation.
Conclusion: The dough prepared with the incorporation with FMs had detrimental dough handling and sheeting property; the noodles prepared with 30% FMF incorporation resulted in good quality noodles in term of nutrition and overall acceptability in sensory evaluation considering color, flavor, aroma, elasticity, and chewability of the noodles.
Significance and Novelty: This study proposed that adding FM will enhance both the nutritional value of noodles and the consumption of millet. This method could be used to enhance the role of FM in the food industry and to leverage the nutritional advantages of these grains.

Published on: November 15, 2023
doi: 10.17756/jfcn.2023-s1-082
Citation: Tanwar R, Panghal A, Kumari A, Chhikara N. 2023. Effect of Finger Millet on Nutritional, Rheological, Cooking and Pasting Profile of Asian Noodles. J Food Chem Nanotechnol 9(S1): S647-S652.

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