Predictability of the consistency of porridges using different methods to measure flour swelling

Abstract

The consistency of porridge made from sweet potato, cowpea, soybean, sorghum, and maize flours was measured in a texture analysis method using back extrusion. The consistency measured was correlated to the swelling volume of the flours, and determined by centrifugation, gravity sedimentation, and least gelation concentration. The reference level of maximum acceptable consistency was estimated from measurements on two ready-to-use child porridges. In general, porridge consistency could not be predicted accurately from swelling volume measured using any of the methods. However, gravity sedimentation, which is the simplest, gave the most consistent results. This method could be used in the field to provide a conservative approximate maximum flour concentration for porridge of acceptable consistency.

Quality of porridge from sub-Saharan Africa evaluated using instrumental techniques and descriptive sensory lexicon. Part 2: Thin porridge

“…When the porridge is drank or eaten with a spoon, it disperses readily in the mouth before it is swallowed. Consumer perception of the texture of thin porridge is influenced by the botanical origin of the flour (Kebakile, 2008), processing technique (Onyango, 2014) and solids concentration (Carvalho et al, 2014;Ojijo and Shimoni, 2004).…”

“…Neutral slurry (10% w/v) was prepared using distilled water; 2 Chemically-acidified slurry (10% w/v) was prepared using anhydrous citric acid solution (2 g/1000 ml); foods with a paste-like consistency and suspended particles (Carvalho et al, 2014;Gujral and Sodhi, 2002). The firmness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity of the thin porridges ranged from 0.…”

“…Generally, the consistency of cooked starch slurries increases sharply with increasing amount of flour from about 10% w/v (Carvalho et al, 2014). This is due to the high volume occupied by the swollen starch granules and the leached amylose polymers (Carvalho et al, 2014;Carvalho et al, 2013).…”

“…This is due to the high volume occupied by the swollen starch granules and the leached amylose polymers (Carvalho et al, 2014;Carvalho et al, 2013). Nonetheless, cassava-based thin porridges still tend to be thicker than cereal-based thin porridges because of the higher starch content and lower amounts of extraneous substances, such as fats and proteins in cassava as compared to cereal flours (Juliano, 1999).…”

Effect of sweet potato endogenous amylase activation on in vivo energy bioavailability and acceptability of soy‐enriched orange‐fleshed sweet potato complementary porridges

“…For adequate energy and nutrient intake, porridges with at least 200 g/kg dry matter are recommended (Rombo et al., ). However, unless native starch is modified, swelling of starch during cooking of such products results in bulky gruels with very high viscosities making them unsatisfactory for infant feeding (Lee et al., ; Tawil, Viksø‐Nielsen, Rolland‐Sabaté, Colonna, & Buléon, ; de Carvalho, Granfeldt, Eliasson, & Dejmek, ). The increased viscosity of the porridges reduces energy and nutrient intake in children who have a limited gastric capacity of 30 g/kg body weight per day (Dewey, Cohen, & Rollins, ).…”