Mixed flour of wheat and Acrocomia: technological quality and shelf life

Abstract

The mixed wheat and bocaiuva (Acrocomia totai) flour allow the development of new products to meet the consumer demand for foods with a healthy and functional appeal. Our study aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical and rheological quality of mixed flours during storage. Mixed flours with 10 and 20% replacement of wheat flour with bocaiuva flour were conditioned in impermeable films to water vapor, oxygen and light and stored at ambient temperature for up to 120 days. Flours were submitted to periodical physical-chemical and rheological analyses. Moisture stayed within the legal limit, and water activity was considered adequate to inhibit microbial growth. Titrable acidity increased in the first 30 days of storage. Adding 20% of bocaiuva to the wheat flour enriched the mixture with twice the carotenoids and higher total phenol content. The bioactive compounds showed a slight reduction during storage. The mixed flour can be indicated for elaborating bread, loaf, pasta, cakes and biscuits. The falling numbers point to the need for correcting the flour by adding enzymes to produce fermented foods.