Influence of Quinoa Enrichment on the Formulation, Qualitative Parameters and Consumer Acceptability of Low-Gluten Foods

ABSTRACT: Quinoa, is renowned as a grain of the 21st century in lieu of its capacity to withstand any climatic condition, its potential health benefits and exceptional nutritional value. Breakfast is the important meal of the day, which is skipped most often by most of the people. This study is framed with the objective of developing breakfast foods from the highly nutritious food grain like quinoa. As, Chapati and bars are easier to prepare and consume, the study aims at developing high-quality, convenient foods products by incorporating quinoa flour and quinoa flakes. The processed quinoa flour and flakes was substituted into the wheat flour and rice flakes in the proportion of 25, 50 & 75% to prepare chapati and bars of different variations namely variation1 (25Q:75W), variation2 (50Q:50W) and variation3 (75Q:25W). All the variations were analysed for physical characteristics, and organoleptic attributes like colour, appearance, mouth feel, texture, flavour, taste and overall acceptability was assessed by 30 panelist using a 9-point hedonic rating scale. The statistical analysis by Duncan’s test and ANOVA showed significant difference (p<0.05) in all the developed variations, when compared with control foods. The most accepted variation was subjected to nutrient analysis. The study report concludes that on comparing with control the presence of macronutrients such as protein and dietary fibre, micronutrients such as calcium, iron, phytochemicals like flavonoids (particularly quercetin, kaempferol and epigallocatechin) were found to be higher in variation 3 of the developed products (chapati and bars). Since quinoa is a gluten free food it can be given to celiac people, their high nutritious and dietary quality meets the demands of the food industry and consumers.