Extrusion processing of cereal grains, tubers, and seeds
Abstract Cereal grains are commonly used ingredients in the extruded food products that are found in the market today. Other commonly used ingredients include tubers, such as potato, tapioca, and pulses, such as dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and dry beans. Cereal grains, such as corn, wheat, rice, and others, contain a significant amount of starch, which contributes to the phenomenon of direct expansion during extrusion. Most often, these ingredients are used in their refined forms. The insoluble fiber component present in the outer seed cover, such as the bran, hull, husk, and others, is removed during the milling process to obtain the refined flours. In recent years, there has been a significant push in the utilization of the ancient grains, pseudo grains, pulses, and others that are considered as healthier ingredients. There has also been an effort to utilize the whole grain flours instead of the refined flours. This chapter provides a broad overview of the different cereal grains and seeds and their performance in extrusion processing for the development of direct expanded extruded food products.