Recent developments and knowledge in pseudocereals including technological aspects

Abstract

Amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, and less known, canihua are the most important pseudocereals. Their high nutritional value is well recognized and they are increasingly used for the development of a wide range of starch-based foods, which has been fostered by intensified research data performed in recent years. In addition to health driven motivations, also environmental aspects like the ongoing climate change are an important stimulus to increase agricultural biodiversity again. As pseudocereals are botanically classified as dicotyledonous plants their chemical, physical and processing properties differ significantly from the monocotyledonous cereals. Most important factors that need to be addressed for processing is their smaller seed kernel size, their specific starch structure and granule architecture, their gluten-free protein, but also their dietary fibre and secondary plant metabolites composition. This review gives a condensed overview of the recent developments and gained knowledge with special attention to the technological and food processing aspects of these pseudocereals.

Buckwheat and Amaranth as Raw Materials for Brewing, a Review

“…Amaranth is a plant that adapts very well to soil and climate conditions, has a better resistance to biotic and abiotic stress than conventional cereal crops [32,59,66,67]. Due to these advantages, amaranth may be a suitable alternative for cereals that are less tolerant of heat, high radiation, pests, and drought [60,63,64,68]. More than 500 g of seeds can be harvested from a single plant, which can contain 60,000-100,000 pieces [62].…”

“…Amaranth grains can be processed into various forms, such as expanded, roasted, flaked, extruded, and ground into flour, and can be used to make bakery products, biscuits, pasta, pastries, confectionery, breakfast cereals, and energizing bars [33,34,92,133]. Amaranth is the most studied pseudocereal for bread making [68]. Kurek and Krzeminska, 2020 [134] suggested that adding 5% amaranth flour was enough to maintain the quality of bread and adding 10-15% could extend the shelf life of finished products.…”

“…Buckwheat seeds are made up of endosperm where starch is located (on average 70%) and a starch-free aleuronic layer [ 2 , 42 ]. The weight of a thousand grains varies between 17.6 and 25.9 g in commercially available buckwheat seeds, a weight that is directly proportional to the starch content, the useful component for brewing [ 68 ]. Buckwheat starch granules are irregularly shaped, in a compact package, measuring 2–6 μm, and contain 24% amylose and 76% amylopectin, which is the usual ratio of cereal starch [ 43 ].…”

“…Amaranth starch can be used as a thickening agent due to its excellent freeze–thaw stability and low amylose content. Amaranth starch is also resistant to degradation, so it can be used in salad dressings, cream soups, and pie fillings [ 68 ].…”

Pseudocereals: A Novel Path towards Healthy Eating

“…All over the world, there is a bang regarding gathering knowledge about healthy eating options and incorporating it into the diet. Several trending terms are floating on the internet, magazines, books like healthy, wholesome, natural, or minimally processed and within cereals; for example, wholegrain, gluten-free, rich in dietary fiber or resistant starch, low carb, or digestibility have arisen and so on [2]. In the above context, pseudocereals fit properly as well as acknowledged for their several health benefits.…”