Corn bran as a fibre source in expanded snacks

The potential use of corn bran as a component for manufacturing snacks thro ugh thermoplastic extrusion was investigated Corn bran (180, 250 and 320 g/ kg) was blended with corn meal according to incomplete three level factoria l design. Moisture (160, 190 and 220 g/kg), extrusion temperature (150, 170 and 190 degrees C) and glycerol monostearate content (0, 4 and 8 g/kg) woe also studied. Dependent variables assessed were radial expansion ratio, lo ngitudinal expansion, specific volume, hardness and fracturability. The sna cks were also evaluated by an acceptance test of individual characteristics using a nontrained panel. The attributes evaluated were appearance, palata bility and general acceptability. Analysis of variance showed that the best combination of general acceptability, expansion and higher level of fibre was reached on snacks prepared with 250 g/kg corn bran, higher temperature lower moisture content and medium level of glycerol monostearate. The corn bran content significantly affected the radial expansion ratio, appearance and general acceptability of the product. All of them showed decreased valu es with increasing corn bran content. (C) 2000 Academic Press.