Traditional Colombian cuisine corn dough: Characterization and evaluation of the effect of heat treatment on selected water-soluble vitamins and minerals

Abstract

Corn is one of the most abundant cereals used for human nutrition and is widely used in Colombian gastronomy as a dough. This article characterizes hydrated white corn dough and evaluates the effects on its content of selected water-soluble vitamins and minerals of cooking it in water or frying it in vegetable oil according to traditional methods used in Colombian gastronomy. Basic physicochemical and microbiological parameters were analyzed, and vitamin and mineral content were determined using HPLC-DAD and atomic absorption spectrometry, respectively. The results showed that the dough was a source of protein(4.82 %), fat(1.48 %), and dietary fiber(5.29 %) and that its microbiological quality was acceptable for human consumption. Heat treatment had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the levels of thiamine, niacin, and pyridoxine, but ascorbic acid was not detected in the cooked and fried dough. Thiamine, niacin, and pyridoxine content were constant across the treatments. The effects on the levels of minerals present were significant (p < 0.05), with increased levels of calcium and zinc in the fried dough and increased levels of iron in the cooked dough. Finally, traditional cooking and frying methods used in Colombian gastronomy do not lower the nutrient profile of corn dough in terms of the evaluated nutrients.