Effect of incorporation of mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) powder on quality characteristics of Papad (Indian snack food) D.N. PARAB, J.R. DHALAGADE, A.K. SAHOO, & R.C. RANVEER Department of Food Science and Technology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, India Abstract Papad is familiarly known as an Indian food adjunct or snack food. In this study, attempts have been made to increase the protein, minerals and crude fibre content of the papad with incorporation of Pleurotus sajor-caju powder to develop a novel snack food. Mushroom powder was added in different proportions with other ingredients of the papad and the prepared papad was subjected to physicochemical and sensorial analyses. Mushrooms pretreated with 1% potassium metabisulphite followed by whey treatment had better colour and reduced drying time. Drying at 508C produced more amount of mushroom powder (350 m) and had higher acceptability of rehydrated samples. The papad enriched with 20% mushroom powder showed increased values of protein (15.8%), minerals (38.87%) and crude fibre (218.18%) content and had maximum sensory score. Therefore, papad supplemented with oyster mushroom powder may help to reduce protein malnutrition, constipation and mineral deficiency disorders. Keywords: Pleurotus sajor-caju, oyster mushroom, papad, tray drying, KMS, EDTA Introduction Papad is a familiarly known food adjunct consumed as a snack food extensively in India and in many other parts of Southern Asia. It is usually made out of dough containing pulse flour, edible starch flour and cereal flour with table salt, carbonates, spices, edible vegetable oil and miscellaneous additives with water (Velu et al. 2004). Mushrooms are extremely perishable and have a short shelf life. To increase the post-harvest life, different methods of drying viz. sun drying, fluidized bed drying and thin layer drying were practiced (Gothandapani et al. 1997). Before drying, mush- rooms can be subjected to various pretreatments like washing with water, potassium metabisulphite (KMS), sugar, salt, either alone or in combination which help in checking enzymatic browning, stabiliz- ing colour, enhancing flavour retention and maintain- ing textural properties (Singh et al. 2001). Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) contains higher values of protein, mineral salts, vitamins, typical flavour compounds and various enzymes, (Martinez-Soto et al. 2001). The proteins present in the mushrooms are rich in various essential amino acids (Singh et al. 1995; Bajaj et al. 1996). In this study, attempts have been made to increase the protein, minerals and crude fibre content of the papad with incorporation of P. sajor-caju (oyster mushroom) powder for developing a novel snack food. Methods Effect of whey and temperature on the drying rate The paneer whey was prepared and used in this study following the method described by Ingale et al. (2009). Oyster mushrooms were procured from ‘Balvant Mushrooms’, Shivaji Peth, Kolhapur (MS) India. These were treated with 1% of KMS for 30 min followed by dipping in whey for 10, 20, and 30 min, respectively. These treated mushrooms were dried at 508C in a cross-flow dryer (Walde et al. 2006) and ISSN 0963-7486 print/ISSN 1465-3478 online q 2012 Informa UK, Ltd. DOI: 10.3109/09637486.2012.681629 Correspondence: R. C. Ranveer, Department of Food Science and Technology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, Maharashtra, India. Tel: þ 91 231 6450346. Fax: þ 91 231 691533. E-mail: rahul.ranveer@gmail.com International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 2012; Early Online: 1–5 Int J Food Sci Nutr Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by 14.97.24.254 on 05/21/12 For personal use only.