Effect of serving temperature on the nutritional quality of cereal foods

Abstract

Cereal is one of the oat-based food products that contain high dietary fibre and nutritional value. One of the factors that affect the nutritional quality of the cereal during serving is the temperature of the water used for brewing. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of serving temperature on the nutritional value of ready-to-eat cereal foods. The sample consisted of 4 types, i.e instant oat (A and B), and quick cook oat (A and B). Each sample was brewed using four different water temperatures, namely 40, 60, 80, and 100 °C. Then the nutritional content analyses were carried out included protein, fat, dietary fibre, and magnesium, also the organoleptic test with the panellist. The results showed that the treatment of the four serving temperatures resulted in levels of protein, fat, fibre, and magnesium which were significantly different, while the serving water temperature of 100 °C resulted in higher levels of dietary fibre. The sample that was most preferred by the panellists was the sample that was brewed with water with a temperature of 60 °C, while the sample that was least preferred was the sample that was brewed with water at 40 °C, both in the instant oat and quick cook oat samples. Therefore, water with a temperature of 60 °C was recommended for serving cereals.