HEALTHIER, GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR MADE FROM SWEET POTATOES, HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS; STUDY

Sweet potatoes, which are orange and starchy, taste fantastic mashed, chopped into fries, or just roasted whole. Nevertheless, you probably haven't thought about making them into flour and using them in your upcoming batch of cookies, at least, not yet. The greatest method for converting sweet potatoes into gluten-free, antioxidant-rich flours that are ideal for thickening or baking was recently revealed in research published in ACS Food Science & Technology.

The use of wheat flour dates back thousands of years and is most likely here to stay. Yet, the gluten proteins in wheat flour can cause stomach pain, nausea, and even intestinal damage in people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Numerous gluten-free choices, including those made from banana peels, almonds, and different grains, are either presently accessible or under development. But, with a somewhat sweet flavour, and a dash of colour, sweet potatoes are a rising challenger since they are a hearty tuber that is rich in nutrients, and antioxidants.

The ideal procedures for processing the flour must be determined before it can be used frequently in baked items purchased from a store. Although a number of factors, including how the potatoes are dried and milled, have been examined in earlier studies, none have yet revealed how these various processes might interact to yield flours that are most suitable for particular products.

Ofelia Rouzaud-Sández and colleagues wanted to investigate how two drying temperatures and grinding processes affected the properties of orange sweet potato flour.

The researchers prepared samples of orange sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) dried at 122 or 176 F, then crushed them once or twice to create their flours. For each sample, they looked at a variety of factors and compared them to both traditional wheat flour and store-bought sweet potato flour. No matter the drying temperature, the starch was once sufficiently damaged during grinding to make it suitable for fermented items like gluten-free bread.

The starch's crystallinity was further disrupted after two grindings, yielding thickening agents perfect for sauces or porridge. The high-temperature-dried, single-ground sample had a greater antioxidant capacity than both wheat flour and store-bought bread when it was baked. According to the researchers, these discoveries may increase the use of orange sweet potato flour for both home cooks and the packaged food industry.

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