FORMULATION OF GLUTEN-FREE CAKE FOR GLUTEN INTOLERANT INDIVIDUALS AND EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITY

Abstract

Now a days, gluten intolerance is a common health problem among modern people. About 6% to 7% of U.S. population may be intolerance to gluten that means about 20 million people in the United States alone could have the condition. This study was carried out to produce gluten free cake from gluten-free flours for gluten intolerant individuals. Cake samples were prepared from rice, oat, almond flours and mixture of rice, oat, almond and corn flours. Cake made of 100% wheat flour was prepared for comparison. Proximate composition, mineral contents, baking quality and sensory properties of cake were evaluated. Proximate analysis were evaluated according to Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC) methods. Minerals content were determined by using a biochemical analyzer (Humalyzer 3000). Specific volume of cake was calculated according to the method described in American Association of Cereal Chemists (A.A.C.C.-2000). Sensory evaluation was done using 7 point hedonic scale. A remarkable improvement in protein, minerals (Na, K, P) and crude fibre were found in cakes prepared from rice flour, oat flour and almond flour as compared with control cake. Protein and crude fibre was higher (11%) in almond flour cake. Crude fibre was higher (1.79%) in both rice and almond flour cake. Cake that was produced from rice flour had the lowest (7.7%) protein content. Highest K (37.83 mg/dl), Mg (1.10 mg/dl) and Fe (0.08 mg/dl) were found in almond flour cake. Baking performance showed that all cake samples had lower volume and specific volume than control. Sensory evaluation of cakes indicated that all samples were acceptable to the consumer but cake which contained almond flour had superior sensory characteristics and nutritional value. From this study we can say that, we are successful to formulate a new gluten-free food products that might be helpful for gluten intolerant individuals to improve their gluten-free lifestyle. Further research is needed to evaluate bioactive compounds, antioxidant properties and shelf-life of the products.