Lebensm.-Wiss. u.-Technol., 32, 79]88 1999 .

Extrusion Cooking of Rice Flour

and Amaranth Blends
S. Ilo,* Y. Liu, and E. Berghofer

S. Ilo, E. Berghofer: Institute of Food Technology, Universitat

fur
Bodenkultur Wien, Muthgasse 18,
A-1190 Vienna Austria.
Y. Liu: Wuhan Food Industry College, Department of Grain Engineering, Shundao Street 129,
430022 Wuhan China.
(Recei ed January 12, 1998; accepted October 2, 1998)

Response surface methodology was used to in estigate the extrusion cooking and product properties of rice flour and amaranth blends
in a CM45-F conical, counter-rotating twin-screw extruder. Three mixtures at a le el of 20, 40 and 60 g r 100 g amaranth were
extrusion cooked using a central composite design with aried barrel temperature (150]190 8C), feed moisture (11]16 g r 100 g wb),
feed rate (15]35 kg r h), and screw speed (58]82 rpm). Pressure, torque, specific mechanical energy (SME), Brabender pasting
properties, expansion of extrudate characterised by sectional (SEI) and longitudinal expansion (LEI), product density, breaking
strength, and total colour change were determined. Increasing amaranth content in the blends increased die pressure, but decreased
torque and SME. Increasing amaranth content caused an enormous decrease in the sectional expansion index (SEI) and increase in
the breaking strength of extrudate. Well expanded rice-amaranth products with acceptable soft texture were at amaranth le els of
20]40 g r 100 g. Optimal extrusion cooking conditions most likely to produce rice-amaranth products suitable for a puffed snack
food were at high barrel temperature, low moisture, high screw speed, and feed rates in the range of 25]35 kg r h.

q 1999 Academic Press

Keywords: rice flour; amaranth; extrusion cooking

Introduction
Extrusion cooking is a versatile and very efficient technology, widely used in grain processing. There is a
trend in the food industry to develop convenience
products, such as puffed snack foods and breakfast
cereals, of high nutritional value. Interest in amaranth
grain has increased in recent years because of its
nutritional components, particularly its high protein
and lysine content 1.. Only a few studies have been
reported on extrusion cooking of amaranth alone or
in combination with other grains. Extrusion cooking
increases the availability of proteins or nutrients in the
amaranth grain, and the available lysine remains the
same as in the raw material 2.. Vargas-Lopez
et al. 3.

investigated the extrusion cooking of amaranth under

alkaline conditions and concluded that the processed
amaranth flour may be used for tortilla preparation. It
is difficult to directly produce expanded products by
extrusion cooking of amaranth grain alone, due to their
high fat content. Fat provides a powerful lubricant
effect in extrusion cooking and reduces product expan* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

0023-6438r99r020079 q 10 $30.00r0
q 1999 Academic Press

sion. Fat also modifies the eating qualities of the

extruded product 4.. Additional starch must be used in
extrusion cooking of amaranth to improve extrudability
and product properties. Therefore, extrusion cooking
of amaranth in combination with nutritionally complementary cereal grains such as rice is of even greater
interest, because it can be used to produce nutritionally
balanced products in the well-accepted form of a puffed
extrudate.
The objectives of this study were, a. to investigate the
extrusion cooking behaviour of the blends made from
rice flour and whole amaranth seeds in a twin-screw
extruder, b. to study the effects of amaranth content
on the functional properties of the direct expanded
extrudate, and c. to determine, using response surface
methodology, the extrusion cooking conditions most
likely to produce rice-amaranth products suitable for a
puffed snack food.
Materials and Methods
Materials
Long grain rice was obtained from a local commercial
source. Rice flour -100 m m. was obtained by grinding rice in a pin mill Type PXL18, Pallmann Maschi-

Article No. fstl.1998.0497

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79

lwtrvol. 32 1999 . No. 2

Table 1 Proximate compositions gr100 g db. of rice

flour and amaranth results are average of three
replicates " standard deviation.
Component

Rice Flour

Amaranth

Starch

87.83 " 0.32

67.65 " 0.59

Protein N = 6.25.

8.13 " 0.09

14.16 " 0.17

Fat

0.77 " 0.03

7.05 " 0.05

Fibre

0.36 " 0.04

2.39 " 0.06

Ash

0.47 " 0.02

2.58 " 0.02

nenfabrik, Zweibrucken,
FRG.. Commercial amaranth

Amaranthus caudatus. was supplied by Leopold Posch

St. Polten, Austria.. The amaranth seeds had a size of
about 0.8 mm. The proximate compositions of raw
materials are given in Table 1. Rice flour and the whole
amaranth seeds were blended ratio 80:20, 60:40, and
40:60. in 30 kg batches and homogenised for 20 min in
a planetary mixer Model B404, Bahnsen Mischtechnik,
Hamburg, FRG. just before extrusion.
Extrusion equipment
The extruder used was a conical, counter-rotating
twin-screw extruder CM45-F, Cincinnati Milacron,
Austria.. The general screw geometry was, length 1000
mm, diameter from 90 to 45 mm, channel depth 8.5
mm, calender gap 0.5 mm, and flight gap 0.2 mm. A
screw configuration with five convenient sections and
three drossel zones SK-1552-300, Cincinnati Milacron,
Austria. was used in this study. A drossel zone is a
restrictive element that increases the degree of filling,
and the intensity of shearing and mixing in the screw.
The material was fed into the extruder with a precalibrated twin-screw volumetric feeder K-Tron T35.. The
moisture content was adjusted by adding water with a
dosing pump. Two 3 mm circular dies were fitted in the
die plate. The barrel had four heating and cooling
sections. The screws were heated or cooled by a separate oil circulation system. Barrel wall temperatures
were measured by themocouples. An extra thermocouple sensor and a pressure transducer were used to
measure the product temperature and pressure at the
die. All extrusion variables shown in the control panel
were displayed and stored simultaneously every 5 s on
an IBM personal computer. Steady-state conditions
were assumed to have been reached when there were
no visible drifts in percent torque, pressure and product temperature at the die for at least 5 min. Steadystate conditions were generally achieved after about 15
min. Samples were then collected, cooled to room
temperature under natural convection conditions and
stored for further analyses. Steady-state means for all
extrusion variables were obtained by averaging sixty
data points for each extrusion experiment.

Table 2 Coded levels for the independent variables

Coded Level
Variable

y1

q1

T : barrel temperature in the

last section 8C.
M: feed moisture gr100 g wet basis.

150

170

190

11.0

13.5

16.0

F: feed rate kgrh.

N: screw speed rpm.

15

25

35

58

70

82

A: amaranth content gr100 g.

20

40

60

feed rate, feed moisture, and water flow rate. The total
mechanical power consumption Wt . was calculated
from percent torque Tq ., rpm values of screw speed
N ., and a machine dependent factor for the CM45-F
extruder used: Wt s 0.00243 ? Tq ? N .. Absorbed power
to run the machine empty dependent on screw speed.
was subtracted from total power Wt . to give the net
mechanical power transferred to the product W .. The
specific mechanical energy SME. was then calculated
from the net power absorption W . divided by the total
feed rate F ..
Experimental design
Response surface methodology was used to investigate
the effects of extrusion cooking conditions on the system parameters and product properties of rice flour
and amaranth blends. Results from preliminary trials
were used to select suitable extrusion cooking conditions including screw configuration and die size., and
to reduce the number of variables in the experimental
design. Temperatures in the heating or cooling unit of
the screws was set at 50 8C throughout all experiments.
Three mixtures with 20, 40, and 60 gr100 g amaranth
were studied. The independent variables considered in
this study were: barrel temperature, feed moisture,
feed rate, screw speed, and amaranth content. Coded
levels for independent variables are shown in Table 2.
The temperature profiles in the barrel sections are
represented in Table 3. A central composite design of
the four independent extrusion variables Table 4. was
used for the extrusion cooking of each rice flour and
amaranth mixture. The statistical data analysis and
response surface contour plots were performed using a
Statgraphics statistical package STSC, Inc., Rockville,
MD..
Determination of products properties
The extrudate diameter was measured with a vernier
calliper. The weight per unit length of extrudate was
Table 3 Temperature profiles of the barrel sections

Calculations
The total feed rate F. was calculated as the sum of
material feed rate and water addition rate. The feed
moisture content was then calculated from material

80

Temperature in the last section

8C.

Temperature profile
8C.

150

50 r 110 r 150 r 150

170

50 r 120 r 170 r 170

190

50 r 130 r 190 r 190

lwtrvol. 32 1999 . No. 2

Table 4 Central composite design of the four extrusion variables

Run

Barrel temperature
T .

Feed moisture
M.

Feed rate
F.

Screw speed
N.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
y1
q1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

y1
y1
q1
q1
y1
y1
q1
q1
y1
y1
q1
q1
y1
y1
q1
q1
0
0
y1
q1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

y1
y1
y1
y1
q1
q1
q1
q1
y1
y1
y1
y1
q1
q1
q1
q1
0
0
0
0
y1
q1
0
0
0
0
0
0

y1
y1
y1
y1
y1
y1
y1
y1
q1
q1
q1
q1
q1
q1
q1
q1
0
0
0
0
0
0
y1
q1
0
0
0
0

determined by weighing measured lengths about 0.1

m.. The product density was then calculated from the
mean diameter and weight per unit length, assuming a
cylindrical shape of extrudate. The sectional expansion
index SEI. and the longitudinal expansion index
LEI. were calculated according to Alvarez-Martinez
et al. 5.. Reports were the mean of ten random
measurements.
Texture of extrudate was measured after conditioning
at 20 8C, 50% RH, using a TA-XT2 texture analyzer
Stable Micro Systems, GB. equipped with a WernerBratzler shear apparatus. Breaking or shear strength
was then calculated as the maximal peak force divided
by the extrudate cross-sectional area. Reports were the
mean of ten random measurements.
Each sample was ground in an ultracentrifugal mill
Type ZM1, Retsch, Haan, FRG. equipped with a
0.25 mm screen. A slurry of 10 gr100 g dry solids and
water was shaken at 20 8C for 1 h. Brabender viscosity
curves were then evaluated in duplicate using a
Brabender Viscograph Viscograph E., Brabender
OHG, Duisburg, FRG.. The programme of the measurements in the Viscograph was, start at 30 8C, heat to
95 8C at a rate of 1.5 8Crmin, hold at 95 8C for 15 min,
cool to 30 8C at a rate of 1.5 8Crmin, hold at 30 8C for
5 min. Results are given in Brabender units BU. for
starting viscosity at 30 8C, hot viscosity at the end of the
holding period at 95 8C, and ending viscosity at the end
of the last holding period at 30 8C. The extruded rice
flour and amaranth blends do not have a characteristic
peak viscosity Fig. 1..
Colour readings of CIE Lab values L*a*b* colour

Fig. 1 Brabender viscosity curves of the rice and amaranth

blends a. extrudate processed with extrusion variables at 0
coded levels b. non-extruded materials. ] - ] . 20 gr100 g
amaranth; }} . 40 gr100 g amaranth; ] - - ] . 60 gr100 g
amaranth; - - - -. temperature

space. were taken of the ground sample in duplicate

using a colour difference meter Micro Color, Dr.
Bruno Lange, Berlin, FRG.. The measuring head used

81

lwtrvol. 32 1999 . No. 2

a 20 mm diameter viewing port and the system of

diffuse illumination with 8 8 viewing geometry. The
illuminant was D65. The L* value in CIE Lab colour
system represented lightness, with 0 for darkness and
100 for brightness; a* represented the extent of green
colour in the range from y100 to 0 and red in the
range from 0 to 100; b* quantify blue in the range from
y100 to 0 and yellow in the range from 0 to 100. Total
colour changes were then calculated as: D E s
'D L2 q D a2 q D b 2 were D L s L* y LU0 , D a s
a* y aU0 , and D b s b* y bU0 ; the subscript 0 indicates
initial colour values.

and tends to protect the dispersal of starch granules

during extrusion cooking of low moisture foods 4..
This reduces the amount of gelatinised starch in the
melted material and prevents extrudate expansion. The
products made from the whole amaranth seeds were
therefore of a biscuit-like texture instead of a sponge
structure. Additional starch must also be used in extrusion cooking of the whole amaranth seeds to improve
extrusion behaviour and product expansion. The absorption of free fat during extrusion cooking requires an
appropriate screw configuration, which provides high
shear intensity to disrupt starch granules, and a relatively long residence time in the cooking zone to absorb
free fat.

Results and Discussion

Extrusion cooking beha iour of rice-amaranth blends
Extrudate of widely different physical structure were
obtained in the experiments with blends of rice flour,
and the whole amaranth seeds. Preliminary trials
revealed that for high amaranth levels )70 gr100 g.
free fat appears in the material during extrusion, causing irregular flow in the die due to slip and often
blockage of the die head. The same was reported for
the extrusion of other starch based materials with high
fat levels 4, 6.. Using dead stop runs and quick
opening of the barrel, we found free fat in the feed
zone at the start of material compacting, where the
amaranth seeds ruptures. The free fat was then absorbed in the melted starch of the following sections,
however, at high amaranth levels free fat was always
present in all sections of the screw. In extrusion cooking of low moisture materials, the starch granules were
normally disrupted by the mechanical shearing action.
Excess fat provides a powerful lubricant effect in extrusion, which reduces the mechanical energy dissipation

Pressure, torque and SME

Effects of the independent variables on pressure, torque
and the specific mechanical energy SME. are shown in
Table 5. Results show that pressure and torque were
significantly affected P - 0.01. by all linear terms
of the response surface model. Pressure increased
with increasing amaranth content, whereas torque
decreased. A possible explanation of this phenomenon
is that increased fat content in material would decrease
the melt viscosity in the extruder which decreases the
torque, but this would probably increase the elasticity
of the melted material just before the die, which would
increase pressure. The same results were recently reported by Singh and Smith 7. for extrusion cooking of
wheat starch or meal with 4]8 gr100 g wheat germ oil
addition. The significant effect P - 0.001. of the
quadratic term of amaranth content A = A. on torque
Table 5. implies a considerable decrease in torque at
high amaranth levels. As would be expected, the maximal torque values predicted by the response surface

Table 5 Effects of the independent variables on torque, SME, and extrudate properties
Pressure
10 5 Pa .
Average
T : temperature
M: moisture
F : feed rate
N: screw speed
A: % amaranth
T= M
T= F
T=N
T=A
M=F
M=N
M=A
F=N
F=A
N=A
T=T
M=M
F=F
N= N
A=A
R2
a
b

Torque
% .

83.6
46.4
y14.0**
y4.64 ** a
y31.5*** y12.2***
20.8***
29.4***
y16.1*** y11.8***
11.9**
y21.6***
n.s.
n.s.b
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
25.4***
5.80*
n.s.
n.s.
23.3***
5.16*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y9.74**
n.s.
y8.18**
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y7.08*
n.s.
y9.84*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y9.63***
0.86***
0.93***

SME
kJrkg.

Starting
viscosity
BU .

Hot
viscosity
BU .

Final
viscosity
BU .

770
276
93.6
234
y138 ***
n.s.
5.70**
51.2***
y307 ***
87.5*** a
12.5***
72.2***
n.s.
n.s.
5.75*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
6.45**
n.s.
y439*** y48.6*** y15.9*** y42.7***
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
140**
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
248**
y97.8*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
92*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
8.41**
n.s.
102*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y162*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
0.88*** 0.44***
0.60***
0.78***

*, **, *** s significant at P - 0.05, P - 0.01, and P - 0.001, respectively

not significant at P s 0.05 level

82

SEI
y .

LEI
y .

Product
density
kgrm 3 .

Breaking
strength
Nrmm 2 .

Total colour
change
D E .

14.9
y1.43**
y1.76**
1.86**
y0.39*
y6.88***
n.s.
2.62**
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
1.45*
n.s.
n.s.
y1.71*
1.23*
1.13*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
0.82***

0.664
0.133***
y0.145***
0.088**
0.062**
0.062**
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y0.117**
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y0.093*
n.s.
y0.161***
0.67***

129
y18.8**
43.8***
y43.4***
n.s.
30.3***
y24.8*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
32.8**
n.s.
n.s.
18.8*
36.2*
n.s.
28.6***
0.74***

0.240
y0.095***
0.096***
y0.056**
y0.043**
0.189***
y0.063*
y0.069*
n.s.
y0.043*
n.s.
n.s.
0.035*
n.s.
0.054*
n.s.
n.s.
0.090***
0.094**
0.032*
0.102***
0.84***

12.13
3.58***
y0.85**
y0.44*
y0.62*
y4.48***
n.s.
y1.65*
n.s.
n.s.
2.76**
n.s.
n.s.
y1.31*
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
y0.99*
y2.46**
n.s.
n.s.
0.89***

lwtrvol. 32 1999 . No. 2

model in this study, were produced by the blends with

no amaranth added. Both torque and pressure were
maximal within the variation range of the independent
variables considered at low barrel temperatures, low
feed moistures, high feed rates and low screw speeds.
The measured specific mechanical energy SME. in
extrusion cooking of rice flour and amaranth blends
ranged from 350]1390 kJrkg. Response surface contours for SME as function of the independent variables
are represented in Fig. 2. Results in Table 5 show that
amaranth content was the most important variable
affecting the SME. Increasing amaranth content in the
blends generally decreased the SME in extrusion cooking. SME also decreased with increasing barrel temperature and increasing feed moisture Fig. 2.. These
results could be explained by the dependence of melt
viscosity on temperature, moisture and fat content.
Results show that SME rose with an increase in the
feed rate at low feed levels, and decreased with an
increase in the feed rate at high feel levels. The interaction term M = F was significant, so that maximal
values of SME Fig. 2c. were for feed rates in the range
of 20]33 kgrh, dependent on feed moisture. The filling
degree in a twin-screw extruder is considered to be
directly proportional to feed rate, and inversely proportional to screw speed 8.. Increasing feed rate would
decrease the filling degree and SME, but feed

rate positively affected the mean residence time in

the extruder. A longer residence time in the extruder
low feed rate. would increase the degradation of starch
molecules, which would decrease the viscosity of the
melted material and SME. This agrees with the results
in this study Fig. 2f.. SME was not significantly affected by screw speed. Increasing screw speed would
decrease the filling degree and SME, but screw speed
positively affects the shear stress in the extruder. The
shear induced starch gelatinization would increase the
viscosity of the melted material and SME in extrusion
cooking. This agrees with the result found in this study
Table 5. that SME was not significantly dependent on
screw speed.

Brabender pasting properties

The measured Brabender viscosity curves of the unprocessed rice and amaranth blends and their extruded
products are represented in Fig. 1. Increasing the amaranth level in the blends generally decreased the viscosity of extruded products. Viscosity curves of rice and
amaranth extrudate shown a relatively high starting
viscosity and do not have a characteristic peak viscosity.
These indicate structural and molecular changes in the
starch granules during extrusion cooking. The viscosity
curves of extruded products shown after the major

Fig. 2 Response surface contours for SME kJrkg. as a function of barrel temperature 8 C., feed moisture gr100 g wb., feed
rate kgrh., screw speed rpm., and amaranth content gr100 g., as plotted for two variables with the other variables fixed at 0
coded levels

83

lwtrvol. 32 1999 . No. 2

heating also exhibited a much lower viscosity compared

to their nonextruded flours. These indicate the intensive degradation of the starch during the extrusion
cooking process.
The effects of the independent variables on Brabender
pasting properties such as starting viscosity, hot viscosity, and final viscosity in extrusion cooking of rice flour
and amaranth blends are summarised in Table 5. Starting viscosity had the most variability in the Brabender
viscosity curves, and ranged from 186]473 BU. Starting
viscosity was positively affected by the linear term of
feed moisture P - 0.001., and negatively affected by
the linear term of amaranth content P - 0.001.. The
interaction term M = F was only significant at P 0.05 level. Although the coefficient of determination in
the model of starting viscosity was relatively low R2 s
0.44., this model was highly significant P - 0.001.
because of the high degree of freedom in the regression analysis. A statistical lack of fit test with the pure
error of 12 centre points experiments. confirmed the
adequacy of this model.
Hot paste viscosity of the extrudate from rice flour and
amaranth blends had less variability, and ranged from
64]114 BU. Hot paste viscosity was affected by all
linear terms of the response surface model, but the
most significant effects P - 0.001. were with feed
moisture and amaranth content. The linear terms of
barrel temperature and screw speed, and the interaction term N = A were significant at P - 0.01 level for
hot viscosity, whereas feed rate was significant at P 0.05. Final viscosity in the response surface experiments of this study varied from 173]336 BU. Final
viscosity of the blends made from rice flour and amaranth was positively affected P - 0.001. by barrel temperature and feed moisture, and negatively affected by
amaranth content.

Expansion parameters
The measured sectional expansion index SEI. of rice
flour and amaranth extrudate in the response surface
experiments ranged from 6.2]22.8, whereas longitudinal expansion LEI. ranged from 0.38]0.91. Expansion
phenomena are basically dependent on the viscous and
elastic properties of melted dough 9.. The dough elasticity forces attempt to expand the extrudate in the
radial direction, and contract in the axial direction 10..
This agrees with the result from this study, as in all
experiments we found a contraction of extrudate in the
longitudinal direction LEI - 1.. The effects of independent variables on sectional expansion SEI. and
longitudinal expansion LEI. are shown in Table 5.
Sectional expansion index SEI. was highly affected by
amaranth content. The enormous decrease of SEI with
increasing amaranth content could be explained by the
negative effect of amaranth content on SME, which
affects the extent of starch gelatinization, and the rheological properties of the melted material in the
extruder. Another possible explanation of this phenomenon is the shrinkage of the expanded extrudate,
as reported by Fan et al. 11.. Recently, Della Valle et

al. 12. reported that the glass transition temperature

for bubble growth or shrinkage would decrease with
decreasing amylose content in the extruded starch material. Starch in amaranth with 5]7% amylose 1. has a
lower amylose content than rice with 15]27% amylose
4.. Thus, the shrinkage may be important in the expansion of rice flour and amaranth extrudate at high
amaranth levels. Amaranth content was an important
variable in the response surface model of LEI, as its
linear and quadratic terms were significant at P - 0.01
level Table 5.. The longitudinal expansion LEI. shows
a maximum at a level of 39 gr100 g amaranth.
Both expansion parameters SEI and LEI. were negatively affected P - 0.001. by the linear term of feed
moisture Table 5.. An increased water content in the
melt would soften the amylopectin molecular structure
and reduce its elastic characteristics 5., decreasing
sectional expansion SEI.. Increasing moisture content
decreased the melt viscosity in extrusion cooking, which
decreased the longitudinal expansion LEI.. The results
found in this study are in agreement with the work of
Alvarez-Martinez et al. 5., and Harper and Tribelhorn
13., for expansion properties of corn extrudate. Sectional expansion SEI. decreased with increasing barrel
temperature, but longitudinal expansion LEI. increased with increasing temperature. Launay and Lisch
9. suggested that the sectional expansion and longitudinal expansion were dependent on melt elasticity and
viscosity, respectively. The elasticity of extrusion cooked
melts decreased with increasing temperature, which
agrees with the results of SEI found in this study.
Longitudinal expansion LEI. appeared to be extensively favoured by lower melt viscosity 5.. This explains
the negative correlation between longitudinal expansion and barrel temperature found in this study,
because melt viscosity decreases with increasing
temperature. Screw speed influenced the expansion
negatively in the radial direction and positively in the
longitudinal direction. This can be explained by the
positive effect of screw speed on shear stress. Increased
shear stress with increasing screw speed in extrusion
cooking induces the break down of the starch molecules
that decrease the elasticity of the melted material. This
decreases the extrudate expansion in the sectional direction, and increases it in the longitudinal direction.
SEI was slightly affected by feed rate, but LEI was
more dependent on feed rate as its linear and quadratic
terms were significant Table 5.. In addition, LEI was
maximal at a feed rate of 31 kgrh.

Product density
Extrudate density, which considers expansion in all
directions, ranged from 99]226 kgrm3. The effects of
the independent variables on product density are shown
in Table 5. Response surface contours for product
density as functions of the independent variables are
shown in Fig. 3. Amaranth content was an important
variable in the response surface model of product density, as its linear and quadratic terms was significant at
P - 0.001 level Table 5.. A minimum in extrudate

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density occured at an amaranth content of 30 gr100 g

Fig. 3..
Product density of rice flour and amaranth extrudate
was significantly affected P - 0.01. by the linear terms
of barrel temperature, feed moisture and feed rate, but
was not significantly dependent at P s 0.05 on screw
speed. The high dependence of product density on feed
moisture reflects its influence on the rheological characteristics of the starch-based material. Although the
quadratic term of feed moisture M = M . in the
surface model of product density Table 5. was significant, minimal product density was at feed moistures of
11 gr100 g Fig. 3., the lowest tested in this study.
Extrudate density is inversely related to overall expansion. From the inverse relationship between sectional
and longitudinal expansions it can be inferred that
volumetric expansion or product density has less variability than sectional and longitudinal expansion. Screw
speed negatively affected the sectional expansion and
positively affected the longitudinal expansion, but had
no significant influence on product density. Barrel temperature influences the sectional expansion negatively,
and the longitudinal expansion positively. We generally
found a negative influence of barrel temperature on
the product density of rice flour and amaranth extrudate, which agrees with other results in literature 5,
13.. The quadratic term of feed rate F = F . was

slightly significant P - 0.05. for product density

Table 5., which means that for rice flour and amaranth blends an optimal feed rate can be predicted by
the response surface model of product density Fig. 3..
This relationship reflected the dependence of the specific mechanical energy SME. on feed rate. Minimal
product density of extrudate from rice flour and amaranth was at high barrel temperatures, low feed moistures, and optimal feed rates in the range of 25]35
kgrh, dependent on amaranth content Fig. 3..

Breaking strength
Breaking strength of the rice flour and amaranth extrudate, as measured in the Werner-Bratzler shear apparatus, varied widely between 0.13]0.59 Nrmn2 . The
effect of independent variables on breaking strength
are shown in Table 5. Breaking strength was significantly affected P - 0.01. by all linear terms of the
independent variables considered. Response surface
contours for breaking strength are represented in Fig.
4. Amaranth content was the most important variable
in the response surface model of breaking strength, as
its linear and quadratic terms have the most significant
effects Table 5.. Increased amaranth content in extrusion cooking of rice flour and amaranth blends
decreased product texture for lower amaranth levels,

Fig. 3 Response surface contours for product density kgrm3 . as a function of barrel temperature 8 C., feed moisture
gr100 g wb., feed rate kgrh., screw speed rpm., and amaranth content gr100 g., as plotted for two variables with the other
variables fixed at 0 coded levels

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Fig. 4 Response surface contours for breaking strength Nrmm2 . as a function of barrel temperature 8 C., feed moisture
gr100 g wb., feed rate kgrh., screw speed rpm., and amaranth content gr100 g., as plotted for two variables with the other
variables fixed at 0 coded levels

and increased product texture for higher amaranth

levels Fig. 4.. Faubion and Hoseney 14. also reported
that 1 gr100 g lipid addition decreased shearing and
breaking strength of extrudate, however Pan et al. 15.
reported a positive effect of oil addition 1]5 gr100 g.
on shear force of rice extrudate. These findings agree
with the results of this study, as we found a minimum
breaking strength at a level of 21 gr100 g amaranth.
All significant effects of the quadratic terms in the
response surface model of breaking strength are positive. These indicate optimal extrusion cooking conditions where the breaking strength of rice-amaranth
extrudate take minimal values. The optimal screw speed
was at 78 rpm Fig. 4.. Feed moisture and feed rate
were the other extrusion variables, which can optimise
the breaking strength of rice flour and amaranth extrudate, but their optimal values were dependent on amaranth content Fig. 4.. So, a minimal breaking strength
at the level 20 gr100 g amaranth was at a feed moisture of 12.6 gr100 g and a feed rate of 31 kgrh, and
at 60 gr100 g amaranth at a feed moisture of 11.7 gr
100 g and a feed rate of 27 kgrh. The region of
minimum breaking strength was observed at high barrel temperatures Fig. 4.. The extrudate of rice flour
and amaranth had more plasticity at higher process
temperatures, where low density products with small
cells and thin cell walls can be observed.

Colour change
Unprocessed rice flour and amaranth blends with a
level of 20, 40, and 60 gr100 g amaranth had colour
values of the range: L* from 88.23]89.53; a* from
0.6]1.17 and b* from 8.93]11.07. There are many
reactions that take place during extrusion cooking that
affect colour. The most common are nonenzymatic
browning reactions and pigment degradation. During
extrusion cooking the L* value decreased, whereas a*
and b* values increased. Total colour change in the
response surface experiments of this study varied widely
between 7.8 and 17.4. The effects of independent
variables on total colour change D E . are shown in
Table 5. Response surface contours for total colour
change as functions of the independent variables are
shown in Fig. 5. Results in Table 5 show that colour
change was most dependent on amaranth content and
barrel temperature. Increasing process temperature in
extrusion cooking increased the rate of browning reactions which increased the total colour change. Colour
change D E . in the investigations in this study generally decreased with increasing amaranth content. This
was because increasing amaranth content, decreased
the SME and product temperature profile in the
extruder, which reduced the extrudate browning. The
quadratic terms of feed rate F = F . and feed moisture M = M . in the response surface model of colour

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Fig. 5 Response surface contours for total colour change D E . as a function of barrel temperature 8 C., feed moisture
gr100 g wb., feed rate kgrh., screw speed rpm., and amaranth content gr100 g., as plotted for two variables with the other
variables fixed at 0 coded levels

change were significant Table 5., so that maximal

colour changes were at a feed moisture of 12.4 gr100 g
and at a feed rate of 24 kgrh Fig. 5.. Screw speed had
a negative effect on colour change Table 5.. This was
because increasing screw speed would decrease the
residence time in extrusion cooking, and thus reduce
the colour change.

Conclusions
It is not possible to produce direct expanded products
by extrusion cooking of the whole amaranth grain
because of their high fat content, which reduces product expansion. Additional starch or defatted amaranth
fractions must be used in the production of expanded
amaranth-based extrudate. Therefore extrusion cooking of blends made from amaranth seeds and cereal
flours is of even more interest in the production of
nutritionally balanced products.
The absorption of free fat in extrusion cooking requires
appropriate screw configurations that provide high
shear intensity which disrupts starch granules, and long
residence time in the cooking zone to absorb free fat.
So, relatively low feed rates were used in this study to
increase residence time, which had a beneficial effect
on the extrusion cooking behaviour of the rice-

amaranth blends. SME followed the reported trends in

relation to barrel temperature, feed moisture and screw
speed, but the dependence on feed rate was more
complicated, showing a maximum in SME with respect
to feed rate. This relationship was reflected in the
dependence of product properties on feed rate.
Extrusion cooking of the blends from rice flour and the
whole amaranth seeds were investigated in a twin-screw
extruder using response surface methodology. Increasing amaranth content increased the die pressure, but
decreased torque and SME. The structural and molecular changes in the starch during extrusion cooking, as
characterised by Brabender viscosity curves, were less
intensive at high amaranth levels. Increasing amaranth
content caused an enormous decrease in the sectional
expansion index SEI., and an increase in the breaking
strength of extrudate. Well expanded rice-amaranth
products with a relatively low breaking strength were
found at amaranth levels of 20]40 gr100 g. Optimal
extrusion cooking conditions most likely to produce
rice-amaranth products suitable for a puffed snack
food can be predicted by the response surface models
found. Low density products with an acceptable soft
texture were obtained by high barrel temperature, low
moisture, high screw speed, and feed rates in the range
of 25] 35 kgrh. Increasing extrusion temperature had
a positive effect in the texture softening, but this in-

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creased the browning of extrudate and probably the

extent of the nutritional loss due to Maillard reactions.

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