Properties of extruded snacks supplemented with amaranth grain grits

Abstract

Extruded amaranth grain products have specific aroma and can be used as snack food, supplement in breakfast cereals, or as raw material for further processing. Extruded products of corn-amaranth grits blends, containing 20% or 50% amaranth grain grits, were produced by extrusion-cooking using a laboratory Brabender single screw extruder 20 DN. Extrudates with various texture were obtained. During extrusion process starch granules are partially degraded, hence rheological properties were examined. All samples exhibited thixotropic flow behavior. Those samples in which part of the corn grits was replaced with amaranth one had lower viscosity and exhibited lower level of structuration during storage.

Keywords

• amaranth
• extrudate
• proteins
• starch
• rheological
• properties