Development of a dehydrated fortified food base from fermented milk and parboiled wheat, and comparison of its composition and reconstitution behavior with those of commercial dried dairy-cereal blends.

Dehydrated blends of milk and cereal are reconstituted and consumed as a nutritious soup or porridge in many regions; the composition and reconstitution behavior of the blends are likely to impact on nutritional quality and consumer acceptability of the soup/porridge. Experimental samples of dried fermented milk-bulgur wheat blend (FMBW) and commercial samples of dried dairy-cereal blends, namely kishk, tarhana, and super cereal plus corn-soy blend (SCpCSB) were compared for composition, color, water sorption, and reconstitution characteristics. FMBW blends had higher contents of protein, Ca, lactose and lactic acid, lower levels of salt (NaCl) and Fe, and a lighter, more-yellow color (higher * and *-color co-ordinates) than tarhana or kishk. Compared with SCpCSB, FMBW had numerically higher levels of protein, lactose, and lactic acid, lower levels of Ca, Fe, Zn, and Mg, and lower pH. Tarhana had highest mean levels of starch, and on reconstitution (133 g/kg) had highest water holding capacity, viscosity during pasting and cooling, yield stress ( ), consistency coefficient (), and viscosity on shearing from 20 to 120 s at 60°C. Reconstituted FMBW, kishk, and SCpCSB had similar pasting and flow behavior properties. Overall, the composition (starch, protein, Ca, Mg), pasting and flow behavior characteristics of FMBW were closer to those SCpCSB and kishk than to tarhana. The results suggest that the FMBW powder, on appropriate supplementation with Ca, Fe, Zn and Mg, could be used for the development of customized fortified blended foods for specific groups.