Effect of Substitution of Rice Flour with Quinoa Flour on the Chemical-Physical, Nutritional, Volatile and Sensory Parameters of Gluten-Free Ladyfinger Biscuits

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of partial or total substitution of rice flour (RF) with quinoa flour (QF) (at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) on the chemical-physical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics, as well as the volatile compounds, of ladyfinger biscuits. All quinoa-based formulations positively affected the crust colour, endowing it with lower ‘lightness’ and higher ‘redness’ values, giving the biscuits a more appealing crust colour. Biscuits with higher percentages of QF also had better structure, as they were softer. The substitution of RF with QF significantly improved the nutritional profile of the biscuits, as a result of the increase in protein, lipid, ash, total soluble (SP) and insoluble polyphenol (IP), flavonoid, and antioxidant activity levels, which increased linearly with the substitution rate. Quinoa supplementation led to an increase in volatile compounds that were nearly always characterised by positive olfactory attributes. Sensory analysis revealed that the maximal substitution rate of QF able to maintain an adequate consumer acceptability rating is probably 50%, as higher percentages impaired acceptability due to the presence of herbaceous and bitter tastes, even if the consumers also rated these samples as healthier and softer to touch.

Use of Underexploited Flours for the Reduction of Glycaemic Index of Gluten-Free Biscuits: Physicochemical and Sensory Characterization

“…For the attribute "legume flavour", a clear difference was recorded between control sample and GF biscuits. In example, also, Cannas et al (2020) reported that the employ of an alternative flour, specifically quinoa, gave a more characteristic taste to ladyfinger GF biscuits. It is interesting to observe that "legume flavour" was perceived also in formulations without chickpea or lentil flours due to a more characteristic taste of the flours employed.…”

“…However, these flours even when employed do not represent the main ingredients in the recipes. It has been reported that the use of more nutrient dense flours could improve the nutritional quality of GF products (Cannas et al, 2020;Di Cairano et al, 2018;Foschia et al, 2016;Martínez-Villaluenga et al, 2020). The use of ingredients rich in rapidly digestible starch and with a low phenolic content can contribute to the increase of blood glucose level (Di Cairano et al, 2020;Moraes et al, 2015;Sun & Miao, 2020).…”

Simultaneous inhibition of acrylamide formation and fat oxidation in quinoa cakes using gum Arabic supplementation coupled with fat reduction

“…The reason may be attributed to potentially higher water absorbing of QF, since QF recorded higher fiber and fat contents; these results are in agreement with those reported in literature. [2,6] Moreover, QF and WF are considered rich sources of amino acids as shown in Table 2. It is obviously that asparagine (20.33 ± 0.31 g/100 g protein) is the highest amino acid in QF and is 14.7 times higher than that in WF.…”

“…This observation is in a good agreement with previous studies. [2,31] It was reported that about 20 volatile compounds were detected in high amounts using QF in cookies. The volatile components were mainly aromatics, nitrogen oxides, sulfur compounds, ammonia, and alkanes.…”

“…Of the different types of GF foods, cakes are of great importance from a commercial standpoint due to their ease of preparation and their relatively low selling price. [2] Nonetheless, one of the most problems hampering the production of GF cakes is quality defects and an unbalanced nutritional profile resulting from the lower content of several important nutrients, such as minerals, dietary fiber, and vitamins. [3] Consumers adhered to gluten-free products are increasingly demanding gluten-free foods equivalent to the traditional gluten ones.…”