Influence of different drying techniques on quality parameters of mushroom and its utilization in development of ready to cook food formulation.

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Three different drying methods: hot-air-drying (HAD), dehumidified drying (DD) and freeze drying (FD) were used to dry Indian white button mushrooms ().  Dehumidified drying method has been proposed as an alternative technique  to improve the quality of dehydrated mushroom. Mushroom powder obtained by DD method had 33.29% protein, 17.21% uronic acid, and 10.93% ash content. It was  also a good source of ergosterol (422.18±5.80 mg/100 g dw), which is known as the precursor of Vitamin D. Ethanolic extract of mushroom powder showed good antioxidant activity  with lower DPPH IC value (7.16±0.23 mg/mL) and also lower EC value of ABTS (4.36±0.04 mg/mL). Mushroom powder is added to ready to cook green gram based chilla mix (vegetable omelette mix) at 10%, 20% and 30% levels. The effect of incorporation of mushroom powder on quality characteristics of the formulation was studied. The results showed that the ready to cook mix containing 20% of mushroom powder had protein: 23.33 g; total dietary fiber: 10.75 g; ergosterol: 79.08 mg and also important minerals like calcium: 99.57 mg; potassium: 1203.49 mg; magnesium: 137.80 mg and zinc: 2.23 mg in 100 g of formulation. The formulated products were shelf-stable at ambient temperature for three months.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05680-9.