Development and studies on a gluten free, liquid suspension based on quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)

Sammanfattning: The aim of this project was to develop and make studies on a liquid suspension based on quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa). Quinoa is an Andean pseudo-cereal from South America that is considered to be gluten free. A screening was set up to standardize the method for making a beverage. The standardization included trying different quinoa grains, mixing techniques, heat treatment, additives, enzyme treatment and types of filtration. As a reference, a plant based beverage from oats was used in order to achieve the same viscosity, pH, dry matter and palatability in the quinoa beverage. Another pseudo-cereal, cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule) was also used for preparation of beverage, however the main focus was on the quinoa beverage. Quinoa beverage was analyzed chemically and with other meas-urements such pH, viscosity and dry matter. A scale up was performed and the palatability of the beverage was evaluated with a sensory test of acceptance with 61 untrained participants. The results showed that making a quinoa beverage has potential and it is possible to achieve, same parameters as the reference beverage, the oat beverage. The high protein content was confirmed. Result from the scale up showed that the enzymes increased the sugar formation and the sweetness of the beverage. The test of acceptance showed that the quinoa beverage had a score of 5.5 on the hedonic scale, which is between, Neither like nor dislike and Like slightly. This is lower than the score for the oat beverage which received a score of 7.3. Due to this the taste can be improved in order to produce a product that is accepted by consumers.