High quality-cassava flour (HQCF) composites: Their thermal characteristics in retrospect

Abstract

Researchers and other experts who are involved in food products development using composite flour technology are making noteworthy giant strides worldwide. The escalating global population which is estimated that by 2030 more than eight billion people will be inhabiting the earth, with its associated impacts that will be evidenced in food consumption upsurge, will result in increased penchants for processed foods such as bakery and pastry products. Taking into account the increase in consumption of bread, it should be foreseen that there will be a higher demand for wheat. In consequence, and in the immediate future, global supply of wheat should be expected to decline in. To this end therefore, it is needful to emphasize that other fonts of flour and starch be investigated. The research work on thermal properties of composite flours with reference to its utilization through foodstuffs as bakery and pastry products is, of course, the focus of this review. Blends of flours in which high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) or just cassava flour is one of the compositing flours have been stressed upon vis-à-vis the effect of the cassava flour on the sensory and nutritional qualities besides its overall satisfactoriness. Thermal characteristics of blends of flours from wheat and other sources, have also been reviewed. Integrating cassava flour in baking bread is a step in the direction of value addition to the cassava products chain, as it has been found to be a suitable support for boosting the consumption of a home-grown food stuff above and beyond saving wheat flour importation and enhancing production of HQCF. Gluten-free products development and foods fortification have also seen prospects in recent times. The inclusion of composite flours in bakery and pastry products has also been found to impart desirable characteristics on the final products. Composite flour technology, typically, is gaining acceptance as an innovative technique for taking advantage of the boons in flours that may not be discovered otherwise; this of course, is subject to the proportional presence of individual flours in the amalgam.