Flours from popped grains: Physicochemical, thermal, rheological, and techno-functional properties

The popping of grains has been mainly used to produce ready-to-eat snacks. However, the popping effect on techno-functional properties and possible industrial applications is still unknown. This work evaluated the physicochemical, thermal, rheological, and techno-functional properties of flours from popped grains (FPG). White sorghum and corn grains were adjusted to initial moisture of 11 and 15% and popped using hot-air (210 °C, 90s). The physicochemical, thermal, rheological, and techno-functional properties were assessed in raw and popped flours. Raw flours showed different physicochemical and techno-functional attributes. However, the popping process homogenized their characteristics, behaving similarly in both FPG. Thermal properties evidenced a complete starch gelatinization in FPG and increased their initial viscosity from 8.4 (raw) to 794 cP. SPG showed a constant viscosity under heating-cooling conditions. The techno-functional properties of FPG showed higher water absorption and solubility (134–160%) values than raw ones. The syneresis was reduced in gels from FPG, reaching less than 3.6% after 48 h of storage. Finally, the FPG gels showed a more elastic matrix with lower deformation and higher cohesion. The techno-functional properties of FPG suggest that they can be used as food additives to improve consistency and stability.

Author A. H. Cabrera-Ramírez was supported by a scholarship from the CONACYT-Mexico, grant number: 734975. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Instituto Politécnico Nacional for partly funding this research through the call “Proyectos de Desarrollo Tecnológico o innovación para alumnos del IPN 2021″ for the project “Tecnología de explotado para la modificación del almidón de sorgo”. In addition, this work was supported by Instituto Politécnico Nacional, grant numbers SIP20196083, SIP20200568 and SIP20211175.

Peer reviewed