Process development of a chocolate-flavored peanut-soy beverage
A new beverage product was developed utilizing two protein-rich oilseed sources; namely peanut and soy. Medium-roasted peanut flour and chocolate flavor were incorporated to offer pleasant flavor profile. The peanutÂsoy combination would also improve essential amino acid profile especially that of lysine; compared with an all-peanut product. A pilot-plant scale beverage-processing protocol involved filtration; homogenization and pasteurization as the major operating steps. Beverage formulation employed a three-component constrained mixture design. The low- and high-bound constraints were determined for peanut (30.6Â58.7%); soy (28.3Â43.5%) and chocolate syrup (13.0Â25.9%) based on lysine content; viscosity and visual stability index values of 51-mg g-1 protein; 36.9 mPa s and 1.00; respectively. The beverage formulation and processing protocol thus developed were the basis for further study on consumer acceptability of the new chocolate-flavored peanutÂsoy beverage.
Antiradical activity of extracts of almond and its by-products
Antioxidant activities of ethanolic extracts of whole almond seed, brown skin, and green shell cover were evaluated using different free radical trapping assays. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay revealed that the total antioxidant capacities of brown skin and green shell cover extracts were 13 and 10 times greater than that of the whole seed extract at the same extract concentration. The free radical-scavenging activity of extracts of brown skin and green shell cover also exceeded that of the whole seed. The scavenging activity of superoxide radical by different almond extracts ranged from 76 to 97% at 100 ppm and 85 to 99% at 200 ppm. The corresponding reduction of hydrogen peroxide concentration was 59–66% (100 ppm) and 86–91% (200 ppm). The hydroxyl radical-scavenging capacities at 100 and 200 ppm were 16 and 42% for whole seed, 57 and 100% for brown skin, and 40 and 56% for green shell extracts, respectively. A 100% scavenging activity of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical was observed for brown skin and green shell extracts at 100 and 200 ppm concentrations, respectively, and whole seed extracts scavenged 21 (at 100 ppm) and 73% (at 200 ppm) of the DPPH radical.
Scalping of flavors in packaged foods.
Food packaging, although an integral part of the food chain, has a major drawback in that, often, the packaging material interacts with the flavor constituents of the food, causing either a selective or an extensive loss of desirable food flavors or absorption of undesirable off-flavors from the packaging material, thereby resulting in an eventual loss of quality of the packaged food item. The process is called “scalping” and is of great concern to the food industry, which is always looking out for new avenues in “packaging solutions” for its final product quality needs. The review highlights the various attributes of the scalping process, explores approaches to the reduction of the manifested undesirable effects, and covers other relevant aspects.