Ryan J. Kowalski

Waxy Soft White Wheat: Extrusion Characteristics and Thermal and Rheological Properties

Waxy wheat flour was analyzed for its thermal and rheological properties and was extruded to evaluate its potential for extruded products. Normal soft white wheat flour was analyzed with the same methods and same extrusion conditions to directly compare differences between the two types of flour. Through DSC analysis, waxy wheat flour was found to have a higher gelatinization peak temperature of 66.4°C than normal wheat at 64.0°C, although the transition required 2.00 J/g less energy. Rapid visco-analysis indicated that the waxy wheat flour pasted much more quickly and at lower temperatures than the normal wheat flour. Preliminary extrusion experiments were conducted to determine the optimal screw profile for waxy wheat with respect to maximum radial expansion. The optimum screw profile was used for extrusion trials with varying flour moisture (15–25% wb) and extruder screw speed (200–400 rpm) while monitoring process conditions including back pressure and specific mechanical energy. Physical properties o...

Physical, Textural, and Antioxidant Properties of Extruded Waxy Wheat Flour Snack Supplemented with Several Varieties of Bran.

Wheat represents a ubiquitous commodity and although industries valorize 10% of wheat bran, most of this antioxidant-rich byproduct gets fed to livestock. The objective of this study was to incorporate wheat bran into an extruded snack. Bran samples from hard red spring, soft white club cv. Bruehl, and purple wheat lines were added to cv. Waxy-Pen wheat flour (Triticum aestivum L.) at replacement concentrations of 0%, 12.5%, 25%, and 37.5% (w/w; n = 10). Extrudates were evaluated for antioxidant capacity, color, and physical properties. Results showed that high fiber concentrations altered several pasting properties, reduced expansion ratios (P < 0.0001), and created denser products (P < 0.0001), especially for white bran supplemented extrudates. Purple bran supplemented extrudates produced harder products compared to white and red bran treatments (P < 0.0001). Extrudates produced with 37.5% (w/w) of each bran variety absorbed more water than the control with no added bran. The oxygen radical absorption capacity assay, expressed as Trolox Equivalents, showed that extrudates made with addition of red (37.5%) and purple (37.5%) bran had higher values compared to the other treatments; the control, red, and white bran treatments had less antioxidant activity after extrusion (P < 0.0001) compared to purple bran supplemented extrudates. Purple and red brans may serve as viable functional ingredients in extruded foods given their higher antioxidant activities. Future studies could evaluate how bran variety and concentration, extruded shape, and flavor influence consumer acceptance.

Reduction of Ochratoxin A in Oat Flakes by Twin-Screw Extrusion Processing.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most important mycotoxins owing to its widespread occurrence and toxicity, including nephrotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity to humans. OTA has been detected in a wide range of agricultural commodities, including cereal grains and their processed products. In particular, oat-based products show a higher incidence and level of contamination. Extrusion cooking is widely used in the manufacturing of breakfast cereals and snacks and may reduce mycotoxins to varying degrees. Hence, the effects of extrusion cooking on the stability of OTA in spiked (100 μg/kg) oat flake was investigated by using a laboratory-scale twin-screw extruder with a central composite design. Factors examined were moisture content (20, 25, and 30% dry weight basis), temperature (140, 160, and 180°C), screw speed (150, 200, and 250 rpm), and die size (1.5, 2, and 3 mm). Both nonextruded and extruded samples were analyzed for reductions of OTA by high-performance liquid chromatography, coupled with fluorescence detection. The percentage of reductions in OTA in the contaminated oat flakes upon extrusion processing were in the range of 0 to 28%. OTA was partially stable during extrusion, with only screw speed and die size having significant effect on reduction (P < 0.005). The highest reduction of 28% was achieved at 180°C, 20% moisture, 250 rpm screw speed, and a 3-mm die with 193 kJ/kg specific mechanical energy. According to the central composite design analyses, up to 28% of OTA can be reduced by a combination of 162°C, 30% moisture, and 221 rpm, with a 3-mm die.

Extrusion Expansion Characteristics of Samples of Select Varieties of Whole Yellow and Green Dry Pea Flours

Extrusion expansion characteristics of commercially available whole flours from three green pea varieties (Ariel, Aragorn, and Daytona) and three yellow pea varieties (Carousel, Treasure, and Jetset) were investigated with a corotating twin-screw extruder. Feed moisture content was kept constant at 15 ± 0.5% (wb). Two barrel temperature levels of 140 and 160°C and three screw speed levels of 150, 200, and 250 rpm were studied. A round die with an opening of 3 mm was used. The radial expansion ratio (ER) of whole pea extrudates was 2.75–3.34. It was shown that the varieties had a significant impact on the expansion properties. Daytona green pea had a significantly greater ER compared with all other varieties (P < 0.05) within the conditions studied. ER was also found to have a positive linear correlation with screw speed. The microstructure of extrudate cross-sections showed that the samples with greater expansion had more uniform and relatively small pore structure. The results show the importance of usin...

Effects of Wheat Grass Powder Incorporation on Physiochemical Properties of Muffins

Wheat grass powder contains various antioxidant compounds and has excellent antioxidant activity. Wheat grass powder was added at 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% levels by replacing wheat flour to make muffins namely control, WG2.5, WG5.0, and WG7.5. The viscosity in the muffin batter, hardness, chewiness, protein, total dietary fiber, ash, and total phenolic content of baked muffins increased with increasing wheat grass powder levels. The volume, cohesiveness, springiness, and color (L, a, b values) of samples showed a reverse trend. Sensory testing of WG7.5 showed lower acceptability while WG5.0 had the maximum score (8.4) as compared to other levels.

Impacts of Cellulose Fiber Particle Size and Starch Type on Expansion During Extrusion Processing

Objective of this study was to understand the impacts of cellulose fiber with different particle size distributions, and starches with different molecular weights, on the expansion of direct expanded products. Fiber with 3 different particle size distributions (<125, 150 to 250, 300 to 425 μm) and 4 types of starches representing different amylose contents (0%, 23%, 50%, and 70%) were investigated. Feed moisture content (18 ± 0.5 % w.b) and extruder temperature (140 °C) were kept constant and only the extruder screw speed was varied (100, 175, and 250 rpm) to achieve different specific mechanical energy inputs. Fiber particle size and starch type significantly influenced the various product parameters. In general, the smaller fiber particle size resulted in extrudate with higher expansion ratio. Starch with an amylose: amylopectin ratio of 23:77 resulted in highest expansion compared to the other starches, when no fiber was added. Interestingly, starch with 50:50, amylose: amylopectin ratio in combination with smaller fiber particles resulted in product with significantly greater expansion than the control starch extrudates. Aggregation of fiber and shrinkage of surface was observed in the Scanning Electron Microscope images at 10% fiber level. The results suggest the presence of active interactions between the cellulose fiber particles and corn starch molecules during the expansion process. A better understanding of these interactions can help in the development of high fiber extruded products with better expansion.

Waxy flour degradation – Impact of screw geometry and specific mechanical energy in a co-rotating twin screw extruder

Dextrinization of starch using extrusion processing is crucial to the quality of direct expanded products. To determine the extent of dextrinization, flour samples were extracted from a twin-screw extruder that had been brought to a sudden stop and molecular weights were determined by intrinsic viscosity. The screw profile and moisture feed content had the most significant impact on molecular weight reduction, reducing intrinsic viscosity from 1.75 to 0.70dL/g at the most. The breakdown, as shown by a reduction in intrinsic viscosity, had a strong negative correlation (r=-0.96) with specific mechanical energy. However, the extruder die did not have a measurable impact on the molecular weight reduction of waxy flour. Size exclusion chromatography confirmed intrinsic viscosity measurements were associated with reduction of the size of amylopectin molecules to approximately 1/10 the original molecular weight while native gliadin was nearly eliminated from the waxy flour following the extrusion treatments.