Standardisation and quality evaluation of millet incorporated nutri waffles

Abstract

Waffles are ready to eat foods made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two hot plates and is patterned to give a characteristic size, shape and surface impression. The utilisation of millets is restricted due to the non-availability of convenient foods in ready to eat form. Millets can be effectively utilised for developing value added products that can improve the overall diet quality. The present study entitled “Standardisation and quality evaluation of millet incorporated nutri waffles” was conducted to standardise ready to eat millet based nutri waffles and to evaluate organoleptic, nutritional and storage qualities of the developed nutri waffles. Two types of nutri waffles, one based on finger millet flour (FMF) and the other based on pearl millet flour (PMF) were standardised in combination with refined wheat flour (RWF) and tapioca flour (TF). Nutri waffles based on finger millet flour were standardised with different proportions of refined wheat flour. Among different treatments, the treatment T5 (50% FMF + 50% RWF) secured the highest scores for organoleptic evaluation. In finger millet based nutri waffles prepared with tapioca flour (TF), the mean scores and mean rank scores for sensory parameters were the highest for the treatment T2 (80% FMF + 20% TF) and secured a mean score of 8.54 for overall acceptability. Among nutri waffles prepared with pearl millet flour in combination with refined wheat flour (RWF), T3 (70% PMF + 30% RWF) had good sensory qualities. Pearl millet based nutri waffles in combination with tapioca flour (TF), the treatment T4 (60% PMF + 40% TF) secured the highest mean score of 8.47 for overall acceptability. Nutritious millet waffles using a composite flour of 70 per cent pearl millet flour and 30 per cent refined wheat flour were successfully standardised with good sensory qualities. The incorporation of 40 per cent tapioca flour instead of refined wheat flour was also found to be suitable for pearl millet based nutri waffles. These organolepticallybest nutri waffles were prepared and packed in HDPE covers and stored under ambient conditions for three months. The physico-chemical, organoleptic and microbiological qualities of these products were evaluated initially and at monthly intervals for a period of three months. The physico-chemical qualities of the nutri waffles revealed that the NW.1 (50% FMF + 50% RWF) contained 4.43 per cent of moisture, 68.28 g/100 g of total carbohydrate, 6.26 g/100 g of protein, 2.91 g/100 g of total fat, 4.31 g/100 g of total fibre, 39.65 g/100 g of starch, 13.15 per cent of reducing sugar, 115.32 mg/100 g of calcium, 1.23 mg/100 g of iron, 2.14 mg/100 g of sodium and 177.82 mg/100 g of potassium. NW.2 (80% FMF + 20% TF) contained 5.37 per cent of moisture, 60.16 g/100 g of total carbohydrate, 4.60 g/100 g of protein, 3.04 g/100 g of total fat, 5.61 g/100 g of total fibre, 31.66 g/100 g of starch, 14.87 per cent of reducing sugar, 177.11 mg/100 g of calcium, 1.63 mg/100 g of iron, 3.84 mg/100 g of sodium and 242.72 mg/100 g of potassium. The nutritional qualities of pearl millet nutri waffles, NW.3 had 3.11 per cent of moisture, 65.10 g/100 g of total carbohydrate, 7.46 g/100 g of protein, 4.52 g/100 g of total fat, 5.32 g/100 g of total fibre, 35.79 g/100 g of starch, 16.02 per cent of reducing sugar, 15.16 mg/100 g of calcium, 2.33 mg/100 g of iron, 2.27 mg/100 g of sodium and 180.46 mg/100 g of potassium. NW.4 had 6.43 per cent of moisture, 52.33 g/100 g of total carbohydrate, 5.22 g/100 g of protein, 4.10 g/100 g of total fat, 4.62 g/100 g of total fibre, 23.56 g/100 g of starch, 17.04 per cent of reducing sugar, 16.06 mg/100 g of calcium, 1.82 mg/100 g of iron, 4.35 mg/100 g of sodium and 193.12 mg/100 g of potassium respectively. The nutri waffles NW.1 (50% FMF + 50% RWF) and NW.3 (70% PMF + 30% RWF) were compared with refined wheat flour waffles (control) and NW.2 (80% FMF + 20% TF) and NW.4 (60% PMF + 40% TF) were compared with tapioca flour waffles (control) and found that, nutri waffles have better nutritional qualities than their control waffles. The nutritional qualities of nutri waffles slightly changed at the end of the storage period for three months and the mean scores of all organoleptic parameters slightly decreased by the end of the storage. However, all nutri waffles maintained an acceptable organoleptic level at the end of the storage period. The total microbial count observed was within permissible limits at the end of storage. Yeast population and insect infestation were not observed throughout the storage period. The nutri waffles were shelf stable without any deterioration u p t o three months of storage in HDPE covers at ambient conditions. The cost of finger millet nutri waffle incorporated with refined wheat flour (NW.1) was Rs. 19 per 100 g and finger millet incorporated with tapioca flour nutri waffle (NW.2) was Rs. 21 per 100 g. The cost for pearl millet nutri waffle incorporated with refined wheat flour (NW.3) was Rs. 23 per 100 g and pearl millet nutri waffle incorporated with tapioca flour (NW.4) was Rs. 25 per 100 g. The study shows that both finger millet and pearl millet were suitable for preparing nutri waffles. As these waffles were nutritionally superior, these can be popularised as a convenient food and hence there is immensive scope for marketing these nutri waffles in our market.