Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) flour obtention: Effect of process conditions on quality attributes and its incorporation in gluten-free muffins

BUSTOS, M.C.; LANCETTI, R.; LEÓN, A.E.; PALAVECINO, P.M.

LEBENSMITTEL-WISSENSCHAFT UND-TECHNOLOGIE-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2020 vol. 125 p. 109217 - 109217

0023-6438

Yacon is a little-known, non-starchy Andean root crop recognized as a rich source of β-(2-1) fructooligosaccharides. The aim of this research is to study different drying conditions to obtain yacon flour with high color and bioactive conservation to be used as a functional ingredient. Three different types of pre-drying processing were tested: pulped, cut as cubes and sliced with addition of bisulfite, and drying for 16 h at 65 °C. Dried slicedyacon remained light-yellow with the lowest anti-browning index. The flour obtained from this sample also showed high reducing sugar content, and good fructans conservation (around 60% compared to freeze-dried) and the highest total polyphenol content (≈450 mg GAE/100 g) and antioxidant activity. Starch-based glutenfree muffins were made with 5% and 10% of substitution of corn starch by flour obtained from dried slicedyacon with minimal effect on crust and crumb color. Addition of yacon flour made muffins less firm and more cohesive with a decrease in chewiness as compared to control. Its addition also generated a larger number of smaller pores in the muffin´s microstructure. The results highlight that yacon flour may be produced by different methods and this powder represents an ingredient with considerable potential for food enrichment.