Recent advancements and applications of explosion puffing.

In modern days, to meet the steadily growing demand for novel and nutritional food products several innovative technologies have been used in the food industry. Among them, explosion puffing (EP) is considered an efficient method for the processing of food products and is proposed as an alternative to conventional processing methods. This review discusses the wide applications of EP in drying, puffing, extraction of bioactive compounds, removal of anti-nutritional compounds, etc. Thus, it provides a complete picture of the applications of EP for the development of different food products and tries to elucidate the effect on the quality attributes of the food. EP act as a promising tool in the food industry. The improvements in the food products quality can be achieved through EP. However, several challenges such as protein denaturation, Maillard reaction, unsuitability for some food products, etc. should be addressed before the industrial adaptation of this technique.

Effect of hybrid drying on the quality attributes of formulated instant banana-milk powders and shakes during storage.

The present research aimed to evaluate the effect of microwave-assisted conventional drying (hybrid drying) on the physico-chemical and functional characteristics of formulated instant banana-milk powders (IBSPs), and organoleptic attributes of banana-milk shakes during storage. The instant powders were prepared from ripe (IBSP1 (control) and IBSP2) and overripe (IBSP3) bananas using hot-air drying (control) and hybrid (microwave assisted hot-air) drying. The water holding capacity, water solubility index, and viscosity of fresh samples, IBSP1, IBSP2, and IBSP3 were 1.97, 1.53 and 0.60 g/g dry sample, 69.48, 75.21 and 76.62 g/mL and 82.29, 86.29 and 72.55 mPas, respectively. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in moisture content, water activity (aw), acidity, and non-enzymatic browning was observed in all the variants/samples during storage. Among various treatments, the shakes prepared by reconstitution (IBSP: water ratio, 1:4) of IBSP2 formulation rated highest organoleptically (significant, p < 0.05).