Black currant seeds as a nutrient source in breakfast cereals produced by extrusion cooking

Abstract

Press residue from black currant juice production was used for the development of a nutritious breakfast cereal manufactured using an extrusion process at high temperatures. The milled residual fraction with crushed seeds contained significant amounts of essential fatty acids, minerals and dietary fibre. The maximal useful amount of this ingredient, about 30%, was reached in a mix containing 30% oat flour and oat bran, 30% potato starch, 7.5% sugar, 1.5% malt extract and 1% salt. In a model product the total fat content was 3%, with the proportions of major fatty acids as follows: linoleic acid 43 mol-%, oleic acid 20 mol-%, α-linolenic acid 12 mol-%, γ-linolenic acid 9 mol-% and stearidonic acid 2 mol-%. During the extrusion process the unsaturated fatty acids were not lost in quantifiable amounts. The product also contained approximately 20% total dietary fibre and plenty of Ca (1.9 g/kg), Mg (1 g/kg) and Fe (59 mg/kg).