Development of composite millet flour incorporated rusk

Abstract

An improvement in millet processing technology to provide millet based convenience food would help in increasing millet production, scope for millet utilization on industrial scale, maintain ecological balance, prevent malnutrition and ensure food security. Considering this, the study was designed to develop Ready-to-Eat rusk using millet flour. Composite Millet Flour (CMF) prepared using equal quantities of sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L. Moench), pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was substituted in refined flour at different levels (25, 50, 75 and 100 %) to develop rusk. The formulated rusk was assessed for its sensory acceptability, physico-chemical properties, nutrient content and storage stability. Of the different formulations, variation I with 25 per cent composite millet flour substitution recorded the highest mean sensory scores with 8.75 ± 0.46. The moisture, ash and acid insoluble ash content of the rusk (CMF – 25 %) were found to be 4.92, 1.22 and 0.05 % respectively. 100g of the CMF substituted rusk (25%) provided appreciable quantities of carbohydrates, protein, vitamin B1, B9, calcium and 354 kcals of energy. On storage (90 days), the moisture content ( 5.78 %) and the total plate count (<100 cfu/g) of the selected variation were within the FSSAI limits (<105) and it was organoleptically well acceptable. Utilization of composite millet flour for the development of Ready-to-Eat products like rusk would enhance the marketability of millets and improve the therapeutic value of formulated food products.