Received: 19 November 2019 Revised: 24 December 2019 Accepted: 13 January 2020

DOI: 10.1111/jfpe.13387

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Effect of peeling treatment on the physicochemical properties

of quinoa flour

Ying Wang1 | Xue Gong1 | Yu Zhang1 | Dong-Hui Geng2 | Longkui Cao1 |

Changqing Ruan1 | Lihe Yu1 | Dongjie Zhang1 | Li-Tao Tong2

1
College of Food Science, Heilongjiang Bayi
Agricultural University/Key Laboratory of Abstract
Agro-Products Processing and Quality Safety To explore the effects of peeling treatment on the properties of quinoa flour, changes in
of Heilongjiang Province, Daqing/National
Coarse Cereals Engineering Research Center, the physical and chemical properties of quinoa flour before and after peeling treatment
Daqing, China and the existing grinding process (full and traditional flour) were carried out. The peeling
2
Institute of Agro-Products Processing Science
treatment reduced the contents of saponins, phytic acids, ash, and insoluble dietary fiber,
and Technology, Chinese Academy of
Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Agro- but the protein, starch and soluble dietary fiber contents increased compared to full flour
Products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture,
(p < .05). The peeling treatment increased the contents of total phenol and mineral ele-
Beijing, China
ments compared to traditional flour (p < .05). The water-holding capacity, transparency,
Correspondence
freeze–thaw stability, and condensation characteristics of the peeled quinoa flour
Dongjie Zhang, College of Food Science,
Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University/Key increased compared with full flour and traditional flour (p < .05). Similarly, reconstituability,
Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing and
and processing quality were all significantly improved compared to full flour and traditional
Quality Safety of Heilongjiang Province,
Daqing/National Coarse Cereals Engineering flour (p < .05), even though some indexes were better than traditional flour. After extru-
Research Center, Daqing, 163319, China.
sion and puffing to make puffed flour, the agglomeration of the peeled flour and viscosity
Email: byndzdj@126.com
of the quinoa paste decreased and the dextrose equivalent value increased (p < .05). These
Li-Tao Tong, Institute of Agro-Products
results indicated that the peeling treatment retained more of the nutrients of quinoa flour
Processing Science and Technology, Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key and improved the processing characteristics of quinoa flour.
Laboratory of Agro-Products Processing,
Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100193, China. Practical applications
Email: tonglitao@caas.cn
To explore the effects of peeling treatment on the properties of quinoa flour,
Funding information changes in the physical and chemical properties of quinoa flour before and after peel-
Advan-tagous and Characteristic Discipline
ing treatment and the existing grinding process (full and traditional flour) were carried
Program of Heilongjiang Province, Grant/
Award Number: 2018 No. 4; Heilongjiang Bayi out. This study provided a theoretical basis for solving the contradiction between the
Agricultural University Support Program for
poor taste of full flour and poor nutrition of traditional flour in quinoa processing
San Heng San Zong, Grant/Award Number:
TDJH201806; Heilongjiang Provincial Land products, to retain the maximum nutrient composition of quinoa, and to improve the
Reclamation Bureau Science and Technology
taste, color, and texture of the product.
Project, Grant/Award Number:
HNK135-05-02; the Key Research and
Development Plan of the Ministry of Science
and Technology, Grant/Award Number:
2017YFD0401203

1 | INTRODUCTION

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is a “nutritious gold” or “super grain”

native to the Andes Mountains of South America (Bhargava, Shukla, &
Ohri, 2006; Filho et al., 2017). Its protein, mineral, cellulose, and vitamin
Ying Wang and Xue Gong contributed equally to this study and should be considered co-first
authors. contents are significantly higher than most other grains, so it is the ideal

J Food Process Eng. 2020;e13387. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jfpe © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1 of 9

https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.13387
2 of 9 WANG ET AL.

“space food” according to the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- 2.2 | Method for preparing quinoa flour
tration (Vega-Gálvez et al., 2010). Quinoa not only replaces rice in many
product formulations but also makes gluten-free products and high- A Bühler MLU-202 labora-tory mill (Bühler Inc., Uzwil, Switzerland) was
nutrient pasta recipes. Because quinoa is rich in nutrients and functional used for the peeling of quinoa. Each sample was obtained and stored at
ingredients, it has become increasingly popular in cereals and can be −4
C (through an 80-mesh sieve). The preparation of quinoa full flour, qui-
used as a valuable functional multigrain meal (Wang & Zhu, 2016). noa peeled flour, and traditional flour is shown in Figure 1a–c A diagram of
In China, with the increase in planting area of quinoa and the the working sketch pap of the peeling machine is shown in Figure 1b.
increasing abundance of quinoa products in recent years, especially in Figure 1a. quinoa full flour preparation operation: quinoa water con-
the context of the high subhealthy population, the nutritional and tent was adjusted to 15%, and the time of moistening was 24 hr. Put the
processing quality of quinoa flour has received increasing attention. Li quinoa into a grinder and crushed it. All the flour passed 80 mesh sieves.
and Fan's report (2016) showed that the properties of quinoa flour Figure 1b. preparation of quinoa peeling flour: quinoa water con-
were, to a large extent, determined by those of starch and the pres- tent was adjusted to 15%, and the time of moistening was 24 hr. The
ence of other components, such as lipids and protein, also affects the bran on the surface of quinoa was removed by a peeling machine, and
physicochemical properties of the whole grain flour. The physico- the peeling rate was controlled at about 8%. Put the quinoa into a
chemical properties of quinoa flour have a significant impact on the grinder and crushed it. All the flour passed 80 mesh sieves.
texture, flavor, appearance, and mouthfeel of quinoa products (Wang, Figure 1c. preparation of traditional quinoa flour: quinoa water con-
Opassathavorn, & Fan, 2015). To make full use of the nutrition of qui- tent was adjusted to 15%, and the time of moistening was 24 hr. Put the
noa, it is often crushed into whole quinoa flour as a food ingredient, quinoa into a grinder and crushed it, passed the crushed powder through
but its addition is limited because the physicochemical properties of 80 mesh sieves, and the undersize was traditional quinoa powder.
whole quinoa flour are poor (Wang & Zhu, 2016). At the same time, The sample flour was treated using a twin screw extruder (DZ80,
saponins are located on the periphery of quinoa, which is a kind of Jinan Saixin Machinery Co., Ltd., Jinan, Shandong Province, China).
antinutritic agent harmful to human body. Therefore, the trade-off The preparation of quinoa puffing flour is shown in Figure 1d.
between the relatively bad taste of whole quinoa flour and the poor Figure 1d. extrusion and expansion operation: quinoa flour was
nutritional value of the processed flour still needs to be resolved. treated by twin-screw extrusion and the moisture content was 28%.
Modern wheat flour grinding technology is basically divided into two The fixed barrel temperature was 140
C, and the screw speed was
grinding processes, traditional and peeling (Dutta, Tilara, Jantwal, & Khan, 350 R/min. Dried in a constant temperature oven at 55
C for 3 hr and
2018). Traditional grain grinding is the screening of bran and germ after crush, and then sealed for preservation.
crushing grain. Its shortcomings are the low extraction rate of flour, which
is a complicated process, and the ease of mixing in harmful substances
accidentally. Peeling is a new technology of flour production from outside 2.3 | Determination of main components
to inside. It is a processing method that first peels off the grain surface and
then smashes. Compared with the traditional method of screening after The main components of the quinoa were determined based on national
grinding, it has the advantages of short processing procedure and more standards (Protein GB/T 5009.5-2016, Starch GB5009.9-2016, Ash GB/T
nutrients retained. On the other hand, peeling flour has better processing 5009.4-2016, Amylose GB/T 15683-2008, Dietary fiber GB/T
characteristics compared with the production of whole grain flour by 5009.88-2014, Amylopectin GB/T 15683-2008, IDF GB/T 5009.88-
direct grinding (Mousia, Edherly, Pandiella, & Webb, 2004; Singh & Singh, 2014, Damaged starch GB/T 9826-2008, SDF GB/T 5009.88-2014, and
2010). Although peeling has many advantages, the application effects of Phytic acid GB5009153-2016, Mineral element GB/T 14609-2008).
peeling in quinoa flour processing and its effects on the physicochemical Determination of total phenol content: Pipetted 100 μl of the
properties and quality of quinoa flour remain to be further studied. extraction solution, mixed with 1 ml of Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, added
In the present study, the changes in the physical and chemical prop- 3 ml of 10% Na2CO3, added distilled water to 10 ml, and let stand at
erties of quinoa flour before and after peeling and traditional grinding room temperature for 1 hr. Determined the absorbance at 765 nm.
and the quality of the finished product were studied. Guidance for the Determination of saponin content: Pipetted 80 μl of the extract,
manufacture of high yield, delicate, and nutritious flour will provide a sci- added 5% vanillin-glacial acetic acid 0.4 ml and 1.2 ml perchloric acid,
entific basis for the comprehensive development of quinoa in the future. and sealed and heated in a 65
C water bath for 20 min. After cooling,
added 10 ml of glacial acetic acid, mixed well, and measured the
absorbance at 550 nm.
2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 | Materials 2.4 | Determination of the solubility and degree of

expansion
Qinghai quinoa (Variety: Qingli No. 6) was purchased from Qinghai
Haixi Haihang Ecological Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd (Qinghai, We placed a 1.0 g sample into 20 ml of water in a centrifuge tube to
China). The moisture content of the quinoa was 13.5%. make a 5% suspension, heated the paste in a 95
C water bath for
WANG ET AL. 3 of 9

FIGURE 1 Preparation of quinoa flour. (a) Full flour, (b) peeled flour, (c) traditional flour, and (d) puffed flour

30 min, shaking once every 1 min, cooled the sample rapidly, cen- 2.5 | Determination of water-holding capacity
trifuged for 15 min at 4000 rpm, separated the supernatant into a
Petri dish, and dried the sample at 105
C (5 hr). We then weighed the We placed a 1.0 g sample into a 100 ml beaker, added 50 ml of dis-
mass of water-soluble starch, and the lower layer was the expanded tilled water, magnetically stirred for 30 min, centrifuged at 2000 rpm
starch fraction. Solubility and swelling were calculated according to for 30 min, and removed the supernatant to measure the sample
the following two formulas (Abu-Hardan, Hill, & Farhat, 2011): weight m2 (Ogungbenle, Oshodi, & Oladimeji, 2009).

m1 Water holding capacity ð%Þ = ðm2 −m1 Þ × 100

Solubility ð%Þ = × 100:
m2

where m1 is the weight of the centrifuge tube and sample before cen-
where m1 is the weight of water-soluble starch and m2 is the dry trifugation, and m2 is the weight of the centrifuge tube and sample
weight of the starch sample. after removal of the upper layer of water.

m1
Degree of expansion ð%Þ = × 100
m2 × ð100−SÞ
2.6 | Determination of transparency

where m1 is the weight of the expanded starch, m2 is the dry weight We took a 0.3 g sample and mixed it with 60 ml of starch solu-
of the starch sample, and S is the solubility. tion with a mass fraction of 0.5%. The mixture was heated in a
4 of 9 WANG ET AL.

95
C water bath for 30 min. During the heating process, the volume 2.10 | Determination of agglomeration rate
of the starch paste was kept constant. We used a photometer to mea-
sure the transparency using a wavelength of 620 nm at 0, 3, 6, 18, We added 100 ml of 70
C water to a 20 g sample for mixing and
24, 48, and 72 hr after the starch paste was placed at room tempera- evenly stirred for 5 min to observe the agglomeration and stratifica-
ture, and distilled water was used as a reference (Gao et al., 2013). tion. The flour was pulverized through a 20-mesh sieve, rinsed with
distilled water, baked to a constant weight, and weighed. The formula
for calculating the agglomeration rate is as follows:
2.7 | Determination of freeze–thaw stability
m1
Agglomeration rate ð%Þ = × 100
m2
We placed a 3.0 g sample into a 100 ml beaker, added 47 ml of dis-
tilled water, dispensed 6% (wt/vol) flour, boiled for 20 min, cooled to
room temperature, and placed the sample in a 50 ml centrifuge tube. where m1 is the weight of the agglomerate in g and m2 is the dry
After freezing at −2
C for 24 hr, the cells were thawed naturally for weight of the sample in g.
12 hr and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 20 min, and the supernatant
was removed. The weight of the precipitate was measured, and the
water splitting rate was calculated. 2.11 | Determination of viscosity

m1 −m2 We added 100 ml of 70
C water to a 10 g sample for mixing, uni-

Water splitting rate = × 100
m1
formly stirred for 50 min, and then allowed the sample to stand for
where m1 is the paste and m2 is the weight of the sediment. 10 min. The viscosity of the quinoa flour paste was measured using an
NDJ-79 viscometer, and the data were read and recorded after 30 s.
The viscosity was calculated as:
2.8 | Determination of condensation η=K×N
characteristics
where η is the viscosity in mPas, N is the instrument reading in mPas,
The prepared 2% (w/v) starch paste was gelatinized fully in a 95
C and K is the coefficient of the rotor.
water bath for 30 min, cooled rapidly, and poured into a 50 ml stop-
pered cylinder to observe the stratification of the sample and the
height of the interface drop. The volume of the supernatant was 2.12 | Determination of color difference
recorded at 1, 3, 6, 9, 18, 24, and 30 hr.
The color of the puffed cereal breakfast flour was measured using an
V1 Ultra-Scan Pro1166 high-precision spectrophotometer using the CIE-
Condensation rate ð%Þ = × 100
V2
L*a*b* color system. This test uses uncooked raw grain as a standard.

where V1 is the upper liquid volume in ml and V2 is the total volume

of the starch paste in ml. 2.13 | Determination of the DE value

The reducing sugar content was determined by the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic

2.9 | Determination of gelatinization acid colorimetric method, and the DE value indicated the degree of
characteristics hydrolysis or scarification of the starch.

m1
We took 5.0 g of wet-water sample with a 14% moisture content, put it DE ð%Þ = × 100
m2
into an aluminum can, added 25.0 ± 0.1 ml of distilled water, stirred
evenly with a stirring blade, and put it into an RVA (rapid viscosity ana- where m1 is the reducing sugar content in the extrudate in g and m2 is
lyzer) and stirred at 960 rpm for 10 s. After a suspension formed, the the dry matter content in g.
rotation speed was set to 160 rpm until the end of the test. We set the
RVA initial temperature to 50
C for 1 min, then raised the temperature
to 95
C at a rate of 12
C/min, held the temperature at 95
C for 2.5 min, 2.14 | Statistical analysis
and finally dropped the temperature by 12
C/min to 50
C, where it was
held for 2 min. The entire measurement process lasted 13 min. The tem- Data are expressed as the mean ± SD and analyzed by SPSS (Version
perature and speed were controlled by Thermocline for Windows soft- 12.0 for Windows; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) using a t test and Tukey–
ware. Each sample was measured three times and averaged (Kong, Zhu, Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc tests. Variations were consid-
Sui, & Bao, 2015). ered significant at p < .05.
WANG ET AL. 5 of 9

3 | RESULTS AND DISCUSSION viscosity, setback viscosity, and pasting temperature were lower for
peeled flour and traditional flour compared to full flour (p < .05).
3.1 | Analysis of the main components and These results are consistent with the starch composition of quinoa
gelatinization characteristics of quinoa flour
T A B L E 1 Analysis of main components and gelatinization
characteristics of quinoa full flour, quinoa peeling flour, and quinoa
The flour yield of the full flour, peeled flour, and traditional flour were traditional flour
100, 84, and 70.8%, respectively. The peeled flour and traditional
Traditional
flour in this study had lower saponin, total phenol, phytic acid, and
Full flour Peeling flour flour
ash contents than the full flour (p < .05) (Table 1). The total phenol
Composition (%)
content of quinoa peeling flour is higher than that of traditional flour
Saponin 1.33 ± 0.52a 0.48 ± 0.14b 0.49 ± 0.11b
(p < .05). Quinoa bran contains a large amount of saponin, which is
Total phenol 1.32 ± 0.07a 0.93 ± 0.05b 0.79 ± 0.05c
bitter and spicy. Peeling quinoa to varying degrees will reduce its phe-
a b
Phytic acids 0.12±0.02 0.02±0.01 0.02±0.01b
nolic, saponin, and phytic acid content (Gomez-Caravaca, Iafelice, &
Verardo, 2014). In addition, the peeling and traditional treatments Ash 6.36±0.05a 5.17±0.07b 5.12±0.07b
a b
increased the proportion of SDF (soluble dietary fiber) and reduced Dietary fiber 11.98±0.20 10.72±0.20 10.67±0.20b

the proportion of IDF (insoluble dietary fiber) to a greater extent than IDF 8.63±0.15a 6.93±0.15b 6.87±0.15b
b a
the full flour (p < .05), which was due to the insoluble dietary fiber SDF 3.35±0.04 3.79±0.04 3.81±0.04a
mainly present in quinoa bran. Moreover, the concentrations of pro- Protein 12.05±0.15b 13.11±0.17a 11.31±0.17c
tein and starch increased compared with full flour (p < .05). Quinoa Lipid 4.59 ± 0.12 b
4.63 ± 0.18 a
4.67 ± 0.19a
contains a lot of high-quality protein, with an average content of Starch 47.02 ± 1.20c 50.77 ± 1.02b 52.56 ± 1.11a
12–23% (Abugoch, Romero, & Tapia, 2008). The minerals content of Damaged 15.88±0.80 a
13.36±0.71 b
14.15±0.75b
quinoa peeling flour is higher than that of traditional flour (p < .05). starch
Quinoa is a good source of minerals, minerals such as Fe and Ca are Amylose 5.37±0.06a 5.26±0.07b 5.24±0.06b
mainly found in bran, and P, K, and Mg are located in the endosperm. Amylopectin 41.65 ± 5.52b 45.51 ± 5.41a 47.32 ± 6.45a
Polishing and washing quinoa grains reduces minerals to a certain
Mineral elements (mg/100 g)
extent compare to full flour. Fe and Zn concentrations decreased by
Ca 824 ± 32a 767 ± 28b 737 ± 31c
12 to 15%, and Cu and Mg concentrations decreased by 27 and 3%, a b
K 661 ± 21 627 ± 25 593 ± 25c
respectively (Nascimento, Mota, & Coelho, 2014). These results indi-
Mg 192 ± 15a 163 ± 18b 136 ± 15c
cated that the peeling treatment method removed mainly nonnutritive
a b
P 458 ± 32 381 ± 31 349 ± 33c
ingredients and retained nutritive ingredients because the nutrient
content in the surface layer of quinoa grain is lower than that in its Fe 7.41 ± 0.37a 6.52 ± 0.35b 6.36 ± 0.27c
a b
interior (Navruz-Varli & Sanlier, 2016). Zn 2.80 ± 0.17 2.38 ± 0.15 2.21 ± 0.15c

After this peeling treatment, the peeled flour contained less dam- Cu 0.72 ± 0.03a 0.51 ± 0.02b 0.48 ± 0.02c
aged starch than full flour and traditional flour (p < .05) because the Gelatinization characteristics
hardness of the quinoa decreased significantly after peeling treatment, Peak viscosity 1,537 ± 31a 1,369 ± 29b 1,363 ± 35b
which reduced the input of mechanical energy in the grinding process. (mPas)

In the traditional grinding process, starch is subjected to a strong Trough 1,099 ± 24a 970 ± 26b 873 ± 24c
shearing force and rolling pressure, which results in an increase in viscosity
(mPas)
damaged starch (Kong, Bao, & Corke, 2009). Our results also show
Breakdown 438 ± 36a 399 ± 31b 390 ± 29b
that the more damaged to the starch, the more serious the damage to
viscosity
amylopectin, so the peeling treatment increased the amylopectin con- (mPas)
centration, and the amylose concentration decreased (p < .05). These Final viscosity 2,275 ± 64a 1878 ± 57b 1,781 ± 65b
results indicated that the peeling treatment not only retained the (mPas)
nutrients in quinoa but also effectively reduced the damaged starch Setback 1,176 ± 29a 907 ± 31b 908 ± 37b
concentrations. viscosity
Higher values of peak viscosity, breakdown viscosity, final viscos- (mPas)

ity, and setback viscosity for high amylose and damaged starch sam- Peak time (min) 5.52 ± 0.18 5.62 ± 0.19 5.67 ± 0.21
a b
ples have been observed in numerous studies as well which may be Pasting 92.0 ± 0.3 87.2 ± 0.2 87.3 ± 0.2b
due to the high amylose content behaving as a diluent factor (Jan, temperature
(
C)
Panesar, Rana, & Singh, 2017). In the present study, the pasting prop-
erty of the peeled flour was similar to that of the traditional flour and Note: Means and SD were determined for triplicate. a, b, c, Different
superscript letters indicate significant differences at p < .05
both were significantly different from that of the full flour (Table 1).
(Tukey–Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc test).
The peak viscosity, trough viscosity, breakdown viscosity, final Abbreviations: IDF, insoluble dietary fiber; SDF, soluble dietary fiber.
6 of 9 WANG ET AL.

flour, which shows that the good gelatinization properties of desqua-

mated quinoa flour are attributed to the protective effect of desqua-
mation processing on the integrity of starch granules.

3.2 | Solubility, degree of expansion, and water-

holding capacity

Solubility, degree of expansion, and water-holding capacity can be used

to indicate the interaction between water molecules and starch granules.
Grain flour has high solubility, a high degree of expansion, and a high F I G U R E 2 Solubility, swelling, and water-holding capacity of
water-holding capacity, and so it is more capable of producing high- quinoa full flour, peeled flour, and traditional flour. Different
quality products (Xing, Ren, Yoo, & Lim, 2011). To investigate the effects superscript letters indicate significant differences at p < .05 (Tukey–
of peeling on the quality of quinoa flour, we determined the interaction Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc tests)

between quinoa flour and water. As shown in Figure 2a, b, the solubility
and degree of expansion of peeling flour and traditional flour were signifi- that of peeled flour (p < .05). Swelling, solubility, freeze–thaw stability,
cantly higher than that of full flour (p < .05). It is notable that the peeled and water-binding capacity differed among starches and were correlated
treatment improved the processing quality, which is the purpose of tradi- with amylose content (Lindeboom, Chang, & Falk, 2005). The freeze–
tional grinding. Moreover, the water-holding capacity of peeled flour was thaw stability of quinoa flour improved after the peeling treatment, but
significantly higher than that of traditional flour and full flour (p < .05) the water-discharge rate was still >40%, and its freeze–thaw stability
(Figure 2c). Amylose shows lower swelling power due to the water- was poor compared with other grain flours. Therefore, this quinoa flour
holding capacity of hydrogen bonds within the starch molecule (Wang, was not suitable for processing into frozen products or suitable as an
Chen, & Zhang, 2016). Water-holding capacity is usually used to evaluate additive to other frozen products.
the degree of starch binding to water, which affects the late tack and The stability of suspension is very important in food processing. The
quality of the finished product directly (Berton, Scher, Villieras, & Hardy, settling amount of a suspension reflects its stability, and the larger the
2002). The full flour contained a large amount of damaged starch, and settling amount, the lower the stability of the suspension (Steffolani,
the greater the content of starch, the more serious the damage to amylo- Leon, & Perez, 2013). In this study, the settling volume of full flour,
pectin, which resulted in a decrease in water-holding capacity. Therefore, peeled flour, and traditional flour increased with increasing settling time,
the peeling treatment reduced the amount of damaged starch and and obvious stratification occurred after standing for 18 hr (Figure 3(c)).
increased the water-holding capacity. The settling volumes of full flour and traditional flour were higher than
that of peeled flour (p < .05). This finding suggested that peeling flour
was more stable than full flour and traditional flour. Therefore, peeled
3.3 | Transparency, freeze–thaw stability, and flour had a relatively high transparency, good freeze–thaw stability, and
condensation characteristics of quinoa flour its processing quality was significantly improved.

Transparency is an important external feature of the suspension that

affects the color, appearance, and acceptability of the product. In the 3.4 | Comparison of the color of quinoa flour
present study, the transparency of full flour, peeled flour, and traditional before and after puffing
flour decreased gradually with an increase in static time and tended to
be stable, but the transparency of peeled flour was significantly higher Puffing is a common method to improve the processing perfor-
than that of full flour and traditional flour (p < .05) (Figure 3a). This is mance of gluten-free cereal flour, so we compared and analyzed
because the integrity of the starch granule was destroyed during the quinoa flour after puffing. The brightness value of the puffed
processing, and damaged starch more easily binds to amylopectin, which peeled flour was significantly better than puffed full flour (p < .05)
weakened light transmission and reduced transparency (Li & Fan, 2016). (Table 2). Stripping the quinoa bran greatly reduced the amount of
The property of condensation is closely related to the quality of the bran mixed into the flour, and the number of colored components
product, which is directly related to the appearance of the texture and in the flour was also reduced, which improved the light brown color
processing properties. The water discharge rate is generally used as an of the flour to some extent. The L* values of the puffed full flour
index of freeze–thaw stability to evaluate the quality of grain flour; the and puffed peeled flour obtained in this study were smaller than
lower the water-discharge rate, the better the freeze–thaw stability before puffing (p < .05). Research shows the lowest L* value and
(Kowalski, Meldrum, Wang, Joyner, & Ganjyal, 2017). As the freezing and highest b* values were observed for puffing rice (Mir, Bosco,
thawing time increased, the water-discharge rate of full flour, peeled Shah, & Mir, 2016). This may be due to the Maillard reaction during
flour, and full flour suspensions increased continuously (Figure 3b). The high temperature extrusion, resulting in a decrease in the whiteness
water-discharge rates of full flour and traditional flour were higher than of quinoa flour.
WANG ET AL. 7 of 9

F I G U R E 3 Properties of quinoa flour. (a) Transparency, (b) water

splitting rate, and (c) setting volume of quinoa full flour, peeled flour, and
traditional flour. Different superscript letters indicate significant
differences at p < .05 (Tukey–Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc tests)

T A B L E 2 Comparison of color between quinoa flour before and

after puffing

Sample L* a* b*
Full flour 94.4±0.08 b
−0.21±0.01 d
5.52±0.04d
Peeling flour 98.2±0.09a −0.26±0.01c 4.33±0.03e
Traditional flour 97.8±0.09 a
−0.25±0.01 c
4.28±0.03e
Puffing full flour 91.3±0.07c −0.37±0.01a 6.78±0.04a
Puffing peeling flour 92.7±0.08 c
−0.34±0.01 b
6.21±0.04c
F I G U R E 4 Properties of puffed quinoa flour. (a) The
Puffing traditional flour 91.3±0.08c −0.35±0.02b 6.32±0.05b
agglomeration rate of puffed quinoa flour at different temperatures.
Note: Means and SD were determined for triplicate. a, b, c, Different (b) Viscosity of puffed quinoa flour under different levels of sucrose
superscript letters indicate significant differences at p < .05 addition. (c) DE value of quinoa flour and puffed flour. Different
(Tukey–Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc test). superscript letters indicate significant differences at p < .05 (Tukey–
Kramer's multiple comparison post hoc tests)

3.5 | Effect of water temperature on the

agglomeration rate temperature was 40–50
C, agglomeration was small, at 60–70
C, the
agglomeration was lower and the dispersion was more uniform, and at
The reconstituability of cereal flour generally refer to the solubility, 80
C, the agglomeration was large. Research shows the effect of
dispersion, and tissue state after being added to warm water. If the heating at 50, 70, or 90
C and low moisture contents on water sorp-
flour dissolves quickly and the material has a low agglomeration rate, tion behavior. Water temperature has a strong influence on the
then the flour has good reconstituability. The agglomeration rate of brewing of flour (Pilosof, Bartholomai, & Chirife, 2006). These results
the puffed full flour was significantly higher than that of puffed peeled confirmed that when the water temperature was controlled between
flour or puffed traditional flour (p < .05) (Figure 4(a)). When the water 60 and 70
C, puffed peeled flour had a lower agglomeration rate than
8 of 9 WANG ET AL.

puffed full flour and puffed traditional flour, and it was more suitable ACKNOWLEDG MENTS
for the processing of related products. This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Plan of
the Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2017YFD0401203),
the Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University Support Program for San
3.6 | Effect of adding sucrose on the viscosity of Heng San Zong (Grant No. TDJH201806), the Advan-tagous and Charac-
quinoa paste teristic Discipline Program of Heilongjiang Province (Grant 2018 No. 4),
and the Heilongjiang Provincial Land Reclamation Bureau Science and
Sucrose is the most commonly used excipient for nutritional grain Technology Project (Grant HNK135-05-02).
flour; it is easily soluble in water and mixes evenly with grain flour.
The larger the amount of sucrose that is added, the lower the ability CONFLIC T OF INT ER E ST
of the quinoa paste to hinder the flow, and the lower the viscosity of The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
the quinoa paste. The quinoa paste is easy to disperse and dissolve
during brewing under these conditions (Fang, Zuo, Xu, Meng, & Liu, OR CID
2016). In the present study, the viscosity of puffed full flour, puffed Li-Tao Tong https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9935-0275
peeled flour, and puffed traditional flour decreased with an increase in
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