Efecto de la inclusión de harina integral de quinua y amaranto en nuggets de pota

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) constituted the main foods of the Andean countries’ peoples, linked to a socio-cultural tradition, hence a growing need to promote the sustainable development of their cultivation arises. Andean grains have a great genetic diversity and tolerance to climate change, which make them suitable for food security; however, they are underused. There is little or no knowledge about the behavior of quinoa and amaranth in nugget-type fried products. The objective of the research was to evaluate the effect of partially replacing wheat flour with whole quinoa and amaranth flour in the batter of giant squid nuggets over the product’s physical properties, with the potential of diversifying their use in the quinoa and amaranth crop value chains. For this purpose, wheat flour was replaced in 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%, and apparent viscosity, coating index, pickup, moisture and fat in the crust were evaluated. The best formula was 30% of inclusion, with this proximate composition: protein 12%; fat 7,8%; moisture 61,1%, ash 2% and carbohydrates 17,1%, with a good acceptance (“I like it quite a lot”). It was achieved to prepare giant squid nuggets including 30% of whole quinoa and amaranth flour, with low fat content and good sensory acceptance. The results of this study show that the binary mix of quinoa and amaranth could be interesting for the development of nuggettype, breaded products, promoting the sustainable development of Andean crops.