Effect of ingredients on the quality characteristics of gluten free snacks.

Grain-based fabricated snacks from non-wheat
grains (amaranth, finger millet, sorghum and black gram)
were used to prepare puffed snacks employing the method
of hot air toasting. The functional characteristics and sensory
attributes of the snack were determined by varying the
moisture content and time of toasting. The quality attributes
of the snacks like the instrumental color parameters,
peak force and puff thickness of the snack correlated well
with the sensory attributes (appearance/color, texture and
overall acceptability). A snack made from amaranth
showed a bright reddish brown colour at a moisture content
of 20–40%; the product had a good puffing and high
overall acceptability. The moisture content of all the snacks
was around 3% and had a fat content of 1–2%; protein and
dietary fiber contents were in the ranges of 22–23 and
10–11%, respectively. The principal component analysis
(PCA) accounted for a total of 89.6% variation. The PCA
biplot showed that sensory appearance, sensory texture and
sensory overall acceptability were closely related to the
puff thickness. The microstructure of the snack indicated
the presence of air cells to offer a porous structure. On
toasting, the flakes increased their thickness creating a
porous microstructure such that the toasted snacks were
crispy having a brittle texture. Popped sorghum and gelatinized
starch added doughs exhibited good puffing when
toasted at 20–30% moisture content while popped amaranth
samples required higher moisture content (30–40%).
The grain based gluten-free snacks with improved sensory
and nutritional characteristics can be prepared by using
different ingredients.