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 thr ee level factori al design, Moisture (160, 190 aim 220 g/kg), extrusion temperature (150, 17 0 and 190 degreesC) and glycerol monostearate content (0, 4 and 8 g/kg) wer e also studied. Dependent variables assessed were radial expansion ratio, l ongitudinal expansion, specific volume, hardness and fracturability. The sn acks were also evaluated by an acceptance test of individual characteristic s using a nontrained panel. The attributes evaluated were appearance, palat ability and general acceptability. Analysis of valiance showed that the bes t 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 cor n bran content significantly affected the radial expansion ratio, appearanc e and general acceptability of the product. All of them showed decreased va lues with increasing corn bran content. (C) 2000 Academic Press.