Wholegrain foods are known to be health-beneficial but their sensory characteristics may be a limiting factor for consumption. Many cereals like rye, oats, barley and sorghum are actually used mainly as wholegrain, whereas for wheat the situation is the opposite. This review deals with factors that differentiate the sensory properties of wholegrain and bran-rich foods from those of refined cereal foods. Hitherto established means of modulating sensory quality and thus improving acceptability of wholegrain foods are also presented. Key words Highlights Most sensory attributes of wholegrain foods are formed during processing  Phenolics, peptides, Maillard reaction products and lipids are the major compounds determining the specific flavour of wholegrain foods  Bran particle size, surface interactions and water binding are key factors in affecting texture formation  Milling, fractionation, bioprocessing and choice of raw materials are among the tools to improve the sensory characteristics of wholegrain foods

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SummaryBiscuits were produced by compositing sorghum or bread wheat flours with defatted soy flour.Compared to the 100% cereal biscuits, sorghum-soy and bread wheat-soy 1:1 ratio composite biscuits had at least double the protein content and the lysine content increased by 500-700%.For the sorghum-soy biscuits, in vitro protein digestibility increased by 170%. Two such biscuits of 28 g each could provide 50% of the recommended daily protein intake for 3 to 10 year olds.Descriptive sensory evaluation revealed that sorghum-soy composite biscuits had crispy and dry texture characteristics associated with biscuits. Sensory evaluation by school children showed that the composite biscuits were rated as acceptable as the cereal only biscuits and this was maintained over four days of evaluation. Hence sorghum-and bread wheat-soy biscuits have considerable potential as protein-rich supplementary foods to prevent Protein Energy Malnutrition in children.

Injera is an Ethiopian flat bread made from cereals, with tef preferred for the best quality injera. Because sorghum is less expensive in Ethiopia, there is great interest in improving the quality of sorghum injera. Effects of cultivar on injera quality were studied using 12 Ethiopian sorghum cultivars of varying kernel characteristics. White tef with good injera making quality was included as a reference. Injera quality was evaluated using two techniques: descriptive sensory analysis of fresh injera and instrumental texture analysis of injera stored over a storage period of 48 hr using a three‐point bending rig. Principal component analysis (PCA) of sensory data associated fresh injera from sorghum cultivars 3443‐2‐op, 76TI #23, and PGRC/E #69349 of varying endosperm texture, with positive injera texture attributes of softness, rollability, and fluffiness. Across the two seasons, texture analysis showed injera prepared from AW and CR:35:5, both with soft endosperm, required the least force to bend after 48 hr of storage. Bending force was negatively correlated with softness (r = ‐0.63, P < 0.05) and positively with grittiness (r = 0.75, P < 0.01) after 48 hr of storage. Sorghum cultivar has an influence on both injera making and keeping qualities.

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Stinging nettles provide low-cost quality nutrition for alleviating malnutrition. Previous research on stinging nettles focused mainly on the nutritional quality of fresh leaves. In this study, the effect of drying method on macronutrients, mineral content, ascorbic acid, β-carotene content and total phenols content and antioxidant activity were investigated. The contribution of fresh, oven dried or freeze dried stinging nettle leaves to the required daily value for the nutrients were also determined. Oven drying of nettle leaves resulted in a higher loss of β-carotene and ascorbic acid content compared to freeze drying. In contrast, the total phenols content and total antioxidant activity were higher in oven dried stinging nettle leaves compared to freeze dried leaves. Overall, freeze dried and oven dried nettle leaves can be considered as a rich source of Ca, Mg and vitamin A; a good source of vitamin C, Fe, and Mn; and a source for Mg and K. Stinging nettle leaves could potentially be used as a cheap natural source of antioxidants and for addressing micronutrient malnutrition.