Use of pseudo cereals in food production

Abstract

Pseudo-cereals grains, edible seeds, which belong to dicotyledonous plants, are becoming in demand in the human diet as gluten-free grains with excellent nutritional and nutraceutical value. Quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat are the most important pseudo-cereals. Recently, pseudo-cereals have attracted attention because of their high nutritional value of proteins, and their storage proteins are not toxic to celiac patients. In addition, seeds are an important source of dietary fibre and phenols, which are beneficial to health. Research has shown the suitability of amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat flour as a substitute for grain flour in the production of gluten-free biscuits. The article represents data on the chemical and functional composition of amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat and considers the production possibility of gluten-free biscuits using an experimental mixture design to optimize a ternary mixture of amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat flour in terms of colour parameters, specific volume and hardness. Nutritional and sensory aspects of the optimized formulation were also assessed. The resulting biscuits based on the flour blend of pseudo-cereals were characterized as a product rich in dietary fibre, a good source of essential amino acids, linolenic acid and minerals, with good sensory acceptability. The data presented testify to the possibility of using the flour blend of amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat as an alternative ingredient for gluten-free biscuits.