Maize Flour Blends Research Articles

Sorption Isotherm of Corn Chips Made from Blends of Corn Flour and Bambara Groundnut Nut Flour

The adsorption equilibrium moisture contents of corn chips (kokoro) made from blends of maize flour and Bambara nut flour was investigated by measuring water activities at 27°C, 37°C and 40°C using the static gravimetric method. Sorption isotherms followed a type II shape in water activities range from 0.10 - 0.80 showing characteristics of most biological tissues. Five isotherm model equations were used which are BET, GAB, Oswin, Halsey and Henderson. The experiments were performed using polythene packaging and exposed petri dishes. The samples were weighed at two days interval until equilibrium was attained when three identical measurements were obtained. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) decreased with increase in temperature at constant water activity and polythene packaging had lower EMC compared to petri-dishes. Oswin and Henderson model were best fit at 27°C with RSS = 1.929×10^-5, SEE = 0.00011, R² = 0.99531 and RSS = 0.001192, SEE = 0.00011, R² = 0.9807 for polythene and petri-dish respectively. Oswin model was best fit for both storage conditions at 37°C and 40°C. The monolayer moisture content at the three temperatures ranged from 0.0193 - 0.0752 and the general model observed for this study that could predict the sorption behavior of Bambara-corn chips was Oswin model.

Production and Evaluation of Breakfast Cereals from Flour Blends of Maize (Zea mays) and Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) Seeds

Aim: Jackfruit is an underutilized tropical and subtropical fruit that is consistently lost to wastages and postharvest losses, neither has it gained substantial research attention. Therefore, the study is aimed at the production and evaluation of breakfast cereals formulated from composite blends of maize flour and jackfruit seed flour.
 Study Design: This study was made to fit into a one way Analysis of Variance.
 Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out at the Department of Food Science and Technology laboratory, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, between February 2018 and October 2018.
 Methodology: Flaked breakfast cereals were produced from blends of different ratios of Maize flour to Jackfruit seed flour. The formulated breakfast cereal products were evaluated for proximate composition, functional properties, anti-nutritional properties, mineral content and sensory properties.
 Results: The mineral content of the formulated breakfast cereals showed significant difference (P<0.05) in Ca(156.23-184.14mg/100g), Mg (179.28-207.81mg/100g), K(70.62-78.53mg/100g), Fe(4.01-5.46mg/100g), Na(9.44-10.66mg/100g), Zn(1.72-2.29mg/100g) and P(10.38-13.62mg/100g). The moisture content (3.83 - 4.14%) of the formulated products was acceptable for shelf life extension of the flaked breakfast cereal products. Protein, ash, crude fiber and fat content of the formulated breakfast cereal products increased with increased addition of jackfruit seed flour while the carbohydrate and energy value of the formulated products decreased with increased addition of jackfruit seed flour. Bulk density and water absorption capacity of the formulated products increased with increased addition of jackfruit seed flour while oil absorption capacity, foam capacity, viscosity and gelation capacity decreased with increased addition of jackfruit seed flour. Processing method significantly reduced the relatively high level of anti-nutrients associated with Jackfruit seed. Panelist preference increased with a corresponding decrease in jackfruit seed flour addition.
 Conclusion: Utilization of jackfruit in food product development may solve the problem of wastage and postharvest losses associated with this fruit.

Functional Properties, Nutritional and Sensory Qualities of Maize-Based Snack (Kokoro) Supplemented with Protein Hydrolysate Prepared from Pigeon Pea (Cajanus Cajan) Seed

ABSTRACTKokoro is a popular maize-based snack in Nigeria, which is consumed by adults and children but characterized by low protein content. The snacks were produced from blends of maize flour supplemented with protein hydrolysate from pigeon pea at 100:0 (control), 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20. Flour blends were evaluated for functional and pasting properties, while snacks were analyzed for proximate composition and sensory qualities. Proximate analysis results showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in protein (9.64–11.12%), fat (13.40–20.17%), ash (1.83–2.38%) content, and energy value (431.84–468.97 kcal/100 g), while fiber (1.19–0.96%) and carbohydrate (68.17–60.74%) content decreased with inclusion of protein hydrolysate. No significant difference (p < 0.05) occurred in the sensory qualities of products from 100% maize and 80:20 flour blend. Hence, acceptable Kokoro snacks from an 80:20 (maize: protein hydrolysate) blend have been formulated, which could enhance the nutritional wellness of the target consumers.

Quality, Functional, and Sensory Properties of Cookies from Sweet Potato–Maize Flour Blends

ABSTRACTThis study was carried out to determine the quality, functional, and sensory properties of cookies from sweet potato–maize flour blends. Substitution of maize flour with sweet potato flour was done at 10–100%. Values of bulk density, water binding capacity, dispersability of flour samples, swelling power of starches, starch content, sugar content, cookie flow, calorific values, and proximate composition were determined. The results revealed that substitution of sweet potato flour with maize flour significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the protein from 6.8–4.4%, moisture from 5.3–5.0%, crude fiber from 3.4–2.5%, and fat from 9.8–8.5% of the composite flours and the cookies. The ash and sugar contents were increased from 4.3–5.8% for ash and 2.1–3.9% for sugar with increase in sweet potato flour substitution. The calorific value of the cookies decreased from 457–397cal/100 g as the percentage of sweet potato flour increased in the maize flour cookies. The water binding capacity increased from 0.9–1.7 and the starch swelling power decreased from 10.1–5.3 at 95°C with increase in sweet potato flour content in the flour mixture. The bulk density and dispensability decreased from 4.6–3.3 g/ml and 48.3–47.1 ml/g, respectively, in the flour as the content of the sweet potato flour in the composite flour increased. Sensory evaluation results showed that the colour, texture, taste and overall acceptability changed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) with increase in sweet potato flour substitution. The optimum substitution level was 40%. Above this level of substitution, the product becomes less acceptable to the consumer in terms of all the variables studied.

Quality characteristics and acceptability of cookies from sweet potato – maize flour blends

Purpose– This study aims to assess the quality characteristics and acceptability of cookies from sweet potato–maize flour blends and to determine nutritional quality, color and palatability traits and to compare the effects with that of wheat cookies, so as to suggest a cost-effective production method to bakers and retailers. This would ensure food security, enhanced health, combat malnutrition problems and improve the production of the crops.Design/methodology/approach– Cookies were prepared by the method reported by Okaka and Isieh (1990), Abayomiet al.(2013), Onabanjo and Ighere (2014) with modification. Flour (200 g) from each sample of different flour blends was used for the experiment. Sugar (80 g) was creamed with margarine (100 g) until light and fluffy constituency was obtained using Kenwood chef with initial minimum speed, and the speed increased stepwise until the mark of 6 on the chef indicator was attained. Whole egg (60 g) was added, then followed by flour (200 g), powdered milk (20 g), baking powder (0.1 g) and salt (1 g) were added and mixed until a stiff paste (batter) was obtained. The batter was rolled on a floured board using a rolling pin to a thickness of 0.2-0.3 cm. The rolled batter was cut into circular shapes with a cutter and arranged on a greased tray and baked at 1500°C for 20 minutes. The cookies were brought out, cooked and packaged in cellophane bag until used for laboratory analysis.Findings– The results revealed that substitution of sweet potato flour with maize flour significantly (p&lt; 0.05) reduced the protein from 6.8-4.4 per cent, moisture from 5.3-5.0 per cent, crude fibre from 3.4-2.5 per cent and fat from 9.8-8.5 per cent of the composite flours and the cookies. The ash and sugar contents were increased from 4.3-5.8 per cent for ash and 2.1-3.9 per cent for sugar with increase in sweet potato flour substitution. The calorific value of the cookies decreased from 457-397 cal/100 g as the percentage of sweet potato flour increased in the maize flour cookies. Sensory evaluation results showed that the colour, texture, taste and overall acceptability changed significantly (p&lt; 0.05) with increase in sweet potato flour substitution. The optimum substitution level was 40 per cent; above this, the product becomes less acceptable to the consumer.Research limitations/implications– Fabrication and production processing machines that use sweet potato will be a great challenge.Originality/value– This research is of value to the bakery industry or retailers. The optimum substitution level of sweet potato flour was 40 per cent, and it appears to be a promising measure from the view of practicability. The relative ease of getting sweet potato flour makes it superior to other imported flour like wheat and in reducing cost of importation of wheat to Nigeria.

Extruded corn flour changed the functionality behaviour of blends

Functionalities and relationships between raw and extruded maize flour blends were studied. The extruded flour had higher water absorption and water solubility indices, and had no differential scanning calorimetry endotherm. The parameters of RVA peak, breakdown, setback, and final viscosity were lowered and the parameters of cold viscosity were improved as the fraction of the extruded flour in the mixture increased. In starches from raw flour, a bimodal distribution of the chain length was found by gel permeation chromatography while in the extruded starches only one fraction was observed. The dough quality of 60% raw and 40% extruded flour mixture was found to be better than with other mixture proportions. &amp;nbsp;

Nutritional evaluation, with emphasis on protein quality, of maize‐based complementary foods enriched with soya bean and cowpea tempe

SummaryTempe was prepared from dehulled, cooked soya beans and cowpea by using Rhizopus oligosporus fermentation. Four complementary foods, containing 50–80% maize flour or ‘ogi’ flour, were prepared from blends of maize flour, ‘ogi’ flour and tempe flour with or without the addition of melon seed flour. The complementary foods were much higher in protein (18.6–19.7%) and fat (8.2–9.4%) than ‘ogi’ and, except for lower ash contents, were comparable in proximate composition with typical commercial complementary foods produced by food multinationals in Nigeria. There were no significant differences in food efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio, net protein retention, packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells, total serum protein and weights of liver, pancreas, kidney and adrenal gland of rats fed the maize‐based complementary foods enriched with soya bean and cowpea tempe relative to those fed a casein diet.

Functional properties and performance of soybean and maize flour blends in cookies

Chemical and selected functional properties of soybean flour (SF), maize flour (MF) and their blends were determined. Cookies were prepared from the SF/MF blends and evaluated for their nutrient contents, and physical and sensory properties. The SF had higher protein, fat, crude fiber and ash contents than MF. The level of these nutrients increased with increase in SF in the blends. The SF/MF blends possessed good water and oil absorption capacities, foaming capacity and foam stability in relation to MF. The emulsion activity of the blends was dependent on SF, increasing with increase in SF in the blends. The flour blends showed increase in bulk density with increased level of MF. The protein contents of the composite flour cookies increased from 10.2% in the 100% maize cookie to 28.3% for the 60% soybean substitution. The width, thickness and spread ratio did not differ significantly ( 0.05) in color, flavor and taste but differed significantly (p < 0.05) in texture and overall acceptability. Above 60% soybean substitution levels, the sensory scores for overall acceptability and all the sensory qualities evaluated except taste decreased steadily. Cookies prepared from the blends of 60% soybean flour and 40% maize flour were the most acceptable.