Development of non-nixtamalized, gluten-free, antioxidant-rich nachos from pigmented Chakhao poireiton rice

Abstract

Nachos is a popular snack. Risks associated with the traditional process of corn nixtamalization prompts for an alternative process and antioxidant-rich raw materials for developing novel nacho chips. Chakhao poireiton (CP) is a pigmented black variety of rice (Oryza sativa, L.) with established strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, steaming and roasting pretreated CP rice was used to develop nacho chips focusing on consumer preference of the product type. Initial sensorial rankings were obtained by Fuzzy analysis. Parameter ranking established mouthfeel as the principal quality parameter followed by taste, texture and appearance. Based on this, process optimization was carried out using appropriate design of Response Surface Methodology. The optimized pretreatment conditions were found to be 30 min of steaming at 100 °C and 13.12 min of roasting at 180 °C. The resultant nachos showed optimum hardness (951.77 g) and fracturability (1476.23 g), while retaining maximum bioactive potential in terms of total phenolic content (82.84 μg GAE/g), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl reducing (25.19 %) and ferric ion reducing (2.57 μM/ml) antioxidant potentials. Comparative analysis of the optimized nacho chips with control samples gave better scores of instrumental texture, color, bioactivity retention and overall sensory acceptability.