Viability of 3D printing of andean tubers and tuberous root puree

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is revolutionizing the industry. This technology can potentially transform and improve challenges in the food industry. This study evaluated the viability of 3D printing of puree made from camote and mashua flours. Before drying and grinding, the roots were pretreated with cooking and microwaving. First, the microstructure of the flours was evaluated using A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The physicochemical, rheological, and extrusion properties of the purees were assessed. Furthermore, image analysis was conducted to observe the effect of time on 3D-printed figures. Four formulations were evaluated: Camote cooked (CamC), Camote microwaved (CamM), Mashua cooked (MasC), and Mashua microwaved (MasM), all containing a percentage of whole milk. SEM results revealed that heat treatments influence grain shape in mashua, leading to round or oval grains; this behavior was not observed in camote treated by microwave. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that microwaved camote granules retain their crystalline structure and shape. High water activity values were observed in camote samples; these results could be due to starch and sugar content. Color analysis revealed differences between samples less appreciable by the human eye in mashua. Rheological analysis indicated a solid behavior, with both G∗ and G′ values similar to or higher than G″ and significant differences among all samples. The tangent values were <1, indicating elastic properties dominated in all samples. Cooked samples showed better proportion fidelity than microwaved ones due to the retrogradation process. The study suggests camote and mashua flours pretreated by cooking present better printability than microwaving. This effect can be related to the higher starch denaturation.