Isolation and Screening of Molds from Traditional Look-pang Starter Cultures for Rice Syrup Production

2023-12-21T13:10:17+07:00

Rice syrup can be produced naturally by fermenting cooked rice with microorganisms derived from traditional starter cultures. In this study, we focused on identifying and assessing the sugar production of fungi present in Look-pang, a traditional starter. We employed both submerged fermentation in starch broth and solid-state fermentation techniques on cooked rice to isolate fungal strains from Look-pang. Of these, Aspergillus tamarii stood out for its superior sugar production. The reducing sugar and glucose concentrations achieved from solid-state fermentation using this culture were in line with findings from previous studies. Notably, A. tamarii is known to produce both beneficial health compounds and potential toxins under specific conditions. The significant role of A. tamarii in the fermentation dynamics of Look-pang underscores its potential in advancing organic rice syrup production, representing a step forward in sustainable food processing.

Characterization of hot air drying and microwave vacuum drying of okra powder and application in bread

2024-03-06T09:12:18+07:00

This research aimed to develop okra powder and applied into bread. Fresh okras were pretreated by blanching and further subjected to hot air drying (HA) at 70°C and microwave vacuum drying (MV) at 3 W/g, -600 mmHg. Results showed that MV reduced the drying time by about 75% compared to HA. The color a* and b* values of the okra powder from MV were lower than from HA and were more closed to fresh okra. Moreover, total polyphenolic content and free radical scavenging by DDPH of MVsamples were higher than HA samples. Blanching okra before drying preserves its color, while sample without blanching leads to a faster drying process. However, unblanced okra powder retain a greater amount of total phenolic content. Specific volume of the bread substituited with 1% okra powder was higher when compared to the control formula (P<0.05). The addition of the okra powder reduced bread's hardness and enhanced the bioactive compound in the bread. The okra powder had the potential to reduce the glycaemic index (GI) of bread from 59.1 to 54.9, which could be considered as medium to low GI food.

Food and Applied Bioscience Journal

Isolation and Screening of Molds from Traditional Look-pang Starter Cultures for Rice Syrup Production

Characterization of hot air drying and microwave vacuum drying of okra powder and application in bread