Effect of process variables on the hydration properties and acceptability of extruded millet‐soybean blends for fura manufacture

Abstract

Purpose

Fura is a traditional thick dough ball snack produced principally from millet or sorghum which is common in Nigeria. It is consumed with nono (local fermented milk) or mashed in water before consumption in the form of porridge. The purpose of this paper is to study the optimization of feed composition, feed moisture and screw speed on acceptability and hydration properties of fura extrudates from pearl millet and soybean flour mixtures.

Design/methodology/approach

The effects of extrusion conditions feed composition (ratio of soybean to millet), percentage moisture wet basis and screw speed (rpm) on the hydration properties and the acceptability of fura from millet‐soybean flour mixtures were studied using a single screw extruder. Response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to evaluate the hydration properties responses of fura extrudates.

Findings

The models showed R²=0.863, 0.825, 0.898 and 0.741 for hydration power (HP), effect of quantity of water on swell volume (EQWSV), wettability (WTBLTY) and viscosity respectively indicating that the model was a good fit and could be used to navigate the design space. The result indicates that increasing the level of soybean flour resulted in decreased HP of fura extrudates. The overall acceptability sensory scores show that the fura extrudate design point 11 representing 20 percent soybean, 16.6 percent feed moisture and 200rpm recorded the highest acceptability (7.25) with significant differences from the other extrudates in terms of colour, flavor, texture and overall acceptability.

Originality/value

The extrusion cooking data from this study could help predict the expected performance in investigations of potential use of millet and soybean to explore the possibility of industrial projection.

Citation

Filli, K.B., Nkama, I., Jideani, V.A. and Ibok, I.U. (2013), "Effect of process variables on the hydration properties and acceptability of extruded millet‐soybean blends for fura manufacture", British Food Journal, Vol. 115 No. 6, pp. 884-898. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-May-2010-0091