Effect of Flour Composition and Artificial Ingredient Substitutes on the Physicochemical Properties and Sensory Characteristics on Food Snacks

Food snack products were prepared by a combination of flour composition and ingredient recipes. A popular trend in replacing wheat flour with rice flour was proposed in the consumer food manufacturing industries for improvement in quality and nutritional value. The effect of variations in flour combination and sugar and fat replacers on the physical (texture and color) and chemical properties (specific gravity, pH from dough; sensory quality from baking products) were investigated. From the texture analyzer running knife probe, rice flour based food snack has a higher rigidity (firmness and crispness) than wheat based snack. Sugar and fat replacers also played an important role in improving the appearance from both the Hunter Colorimeter and sensory evaluation. The substitution of flour and synthetic ingredients were found to be suitable for the development in healthy food snacks while improving the quality for target consumers.