Walnut (Juglansregia) seeds are edible rich source of several essential nutrients which can be processed into flour for several purposes. Composite flour blends (wheat/walnut flour) in the ratio of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, and 50:50 were produced and analyzed for proximate composition, functional properties and pasting properties using standard techniques. Proximate composition results indicated increased level of protein and fat (12.17% -25.70% and 2.40% -37.57%) respectively while carbohydrate decreased (63% -19.4%) with increasing level of substitution with walnut flour. Functional analysis result indicated a decreasing level of bulk density and water absorption capacity (0.78% -0.52% and 5.17% -4.03%) respectively while swelling capacity increased (2.00% -7.53%) with increasing level of walnut flour substitution. Pasting properties data indicated a decreasing level of pasting viscosity (92.69 -42.30), trough (59.19 -39.60) RVU, breakdown (33.55 -2.92) RVU, final viscosity (252.09 -95.51) RVU, setback (192.85 -55.93) RVU with increasing level of walnut flour substitution. Results showed that supplementing wheat flour with walnut flour considerably improved the protein and fat content of the flour, hence they can find useful application for making of pastries like cakes and other snacks.

Production and evaluation of the physico-chemical and sensory qualities of mixed fruit leather and cakes produced from apple (Musa Pumila), banana (Musa Sapientum), pineapple (Ananas Comosus)Mixed fruit leathers were produced from purees of apple, banana and pineapple. The proximate composition, physico-chemical and organoleptic properties of the samples were evaluated. Furthermore, the samples were used as ingredients in producing cakes and sensory evaluation were carried out on them. The physico-chemical parameters studied were total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TTA), fixed acidity (FA), volatile acidity (VA), pH, and vitamin C. There were significant differences (p o 0.05) in the TSS of the samples. However, sample 819 (40% banana: 40% pineapple: 20%: 40% apple) had the highest TSS (20.07 g) and TTA (0.42 g/l) and significantly differed from other samples (p o 0.05). Sample 443 (20% banana: 40% pineapple: 40% apple) had the highest fixed acidity (5.6 g/l), volatile acidity (26.00 g/l) and vitamin C (22.33 mg/100 g) and differed significantly (p o 0.05) from other samples. The proximate compositions studied showed that sample 819 (40% banana: 40% pineapple: 20%: 40% apple) was significantly higher in ash (1.20%), protein (0.71%) and carbohydrates (84.77%) than other samples, while sample 443 (20% banana: 40% pineapple: 40% apple) was however, higher than other samples in moisture content (4.14%) and fat content (2.32%). The highest fiber content (12.47%) was observed in sample 314 (60% banana: 20% pineapple: 20% apple) while the least was in sample 819 (40% banana: 40% pineapple: 20%: 40% apple). There were no significant differences (p 4 0.05) among the mixed fruit leather and cakes samples. The general acceptability of the cake samples were the as that of the control (commercial fruit cake), they were moderately liked by the panelists. & 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Background Some wild and domesticated vegetables of Ibo ethnic tribe of Southeast, Nigeria, namely Piper guineense, Ocimum gratissimum, Solanum melongena L., Gongronema latifolium, Gnetum africanum and Vernonia amygdalina, have gained interest in food culinary uses due to its nutritional, antioxidant potentials and health benefits. These vegetables are rich in fiber, minerals and phyto-nutrients and have significant health benefits against degenerative disorders. Due to these facts, cooking methods aimed at better retention of nutrients and antioxidant compounds were exploited. Methods Carefully selected fresh and shredded indigenous vegetables that are commonly used in different food dishes in Southeast Nigeria were cooked (blanched at 98 °C, 2 min and sautéed at 150 °C, 5 min). They were analyzed on a dry weight basis for minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and antioxidant activity assayed by DPPH, ABTS and FRAP. Results Results exhibited wild variations showing that Ocimum gratissimum and Solanum melongena L had higher concentrations of functional minerals Zn, Fe, K and Ca. Vitamins B1 and β-carotene had higher concentrations in Solanum melongena L, Gnetum africanum and Vernonia amygdalina. Ocimum gratissimum revealed higher concentrations of TPC and TFC and maintains strong scavenging activity in ABTS and FRAP, while %DPPH manifested stronger activity in Solanum melongena L. Vernonia amygdalina exhibited higher phytochemicals concentrations, especially the alkaloid content. Conclusion Sautéed cooking retained more nutrients and had stronger antioxidant activity than the blanched method. Overall, these vegetables possess high concentrations of functional constituents that can make them be used to boost human nutrition and benefit the health of consumers.

The effects of variety and germination time on β‐glucan components – total β‐glucan (TBG), water insoluble β‐glucan (WIBG) and water soluble β‐glucan (WSBG) and β‐glucanase (BG) levels – before and after malting in improved sorghum varieties SK5912, KSV8 and ICSV400 and their relationships to wort specific viscosity (SV) were studied. This study was part of efforts to aid local malting and brewing industries in the application of sorghum varieties that are abundantly available to reduce costs. At the fifth day of germination, variety ICSV400 had the lowest TBG, WIBG and WSBG levels in its raw and malt samples. Variety SK5912 had the highest TBG, WIBG and WSBG levels in its raw samples, while variety KSV8 had the highest levels of TBG, WIBG and WSBG in its malt samples. Similarly, variety ICSV400 malts developed the highest BG levels, while the KSV8 malts gave the lowest level. The effect of variety, germination time and variety × germination time interaction was significant (p < 0.05) on the TBG, WIBG and BG levels and was not significant on the WSBG levels. Weak and significant correlation of TBG levels with SV (0.25, p < 0.05 for SK5912; 0.24, p < 0.05 for KSV8; and 0.31, p < 0.05 for ICSV400) was observed in all the samples, suggesting that the low β‐glucan levels may not be primarily and solely responsible for any viscosity impediments associated with sorghum worts during run‐off. With improvement in the effective utilization of sorghum, ICSV400 appeared the most suitable variety for malting and brewing in Nigeria.Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

This study investigated the quality characteristics of bread made from wheat, cooking banana and mung bean flour blends. The cooking banana and mung bean were added to wheat flour in different ratios (100%WF:0%CBF:0%MBF, 75%WF:10%CBF:15%MBF, 80%WF : 10%CBF : 10%MBF, 70%WF:10%CBF:20%MBF, 75%WF:15%CBF:10%MBF, 70%WF : 15%CBF : 15%MBF, 70%WF:20%CBF:10%MBF) and were used to produce bread. Bread made from the 100% wheat flour served as the reference. The bread samples were evaluated for proximate analysis, physical properties and sensory evaluation using standard methods. The result of the proximate composition of the bread also showed that the moisture content ranged from 19.00 to 22.42%, 12.35 to 14.29% (crude protein), 7.91 to 10.98% (fat), 0.77 to 5.37% (crude fibre), 1.38 to 1.87% (ash) and 51.29 to 56.48% (carbohydrate). The result of the physical properties of the bread revealed that the weight ranged from 202.43 to 204.17 g, 530.62 to 532.27 cm3 (volume), 2.60 to 2.62 cm3/g (specific volume), 9.84 to 10.92 cm (length) and 7.26 to 7.89 cm (height). The overall acceptability of the bread made from 100% wheat flour was liked very much and mostly preferred by the consumers. Thus, it can be concluded that acceptable bread can be made from the flour blends of wheat, cooking banana and mung bean. The incorporation of cooking banana and mung bean flour blends into wheat flour during bread production could reduce the importation of wheat and contribute to curbing nutrient deficiency in the country; thereby leading to increased cultivation and increased utilization of mung bean and value addition to cooking banana.