Use of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) flour in a couscous-type product as a substitute for wheat couscous

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) couscous is a new nutritional product that can replace wheat couscous. The processes of agglomeration, steam-cooking, and drying for its preparation were analyzed. The output variable for the agglomeration process was yield and the factors studied were ratio of fine/coarse quinoa flour, moisture of the mixture, use of a binding agent, and temperature of the binding agent solution. The conditions for the highest agglomeration yield (48.62%) were: 70/30 flour ratio, moisture of 40%, no binding agent, and a temperature of 70°C. The output variables for the cooking and drying processes were Water Absorption Index (WAI), Swelling Power (SP), and Water Solubility Index (WSI). The factors studied were steam-cooking time and drying time and temperature. The conditions maximizing the WAI and SP and minimizing the WSI were: 30 min of steam-cooking time, 120 min of drying time, and 70°C for the drying temperature. Finally, a paired comparison was carried out between the functional, chemical, and sensory properties of the quinoa and a commercial wheat couscous. The chemical properties of the quinoa couscous were better and this product was preferred by 42% of the panelists. However, in the sensorial characteristics, the new product scored lower.