STUDY OF THE WATER-ABSORBING PROPERTIES AND HARDNESS OF AN EXTRUDATE BASED ON CORN AND OKARA

Abstract

Okara - soybean residue, a product obtained from the production of soy milk. It is also a valuable food product, contains a lot of fiber and protein. However, when consumed in food, a raw soybean residue is undesirable due to the presence of enzyme inhibitors and an unpleasant «fish» and «bean» taste. Therefore, the remainder of soybeans must be subjected to heat treatment before being included in various food products. To obtain an extrudate based on corn and okara, a mixture of corn grits and flour from okara was extruded using a single screw extruder. Statistical processing of the experiment was performed using the response surface plan. As independent factors, such factors of influence on the extrusion parameters were used as: screw speed (350-450 rpm), the content of soybean residue in the mixture (20-40%) and the humidity of the mixture (14-18%). The following variables were considered as dependent variables: water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI) and hardness (H). The results of the study showed that the most significant variables are the content of soybean residue, which has a positive effect on hardness, and the screw speed, which has a positive effect on hardness, while the moisture content of the mixture is insignificant in most characteristics.