With droughts in the United States increasingly impacting wheat production, many producers are looking for more durable alternatives.
With droughts in the United States increasingly impacting wheat production, many producers are looking for more durable alternatives. Researchers from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, City University of New York and Monell Chemical Senses Center recently reported that American pallets are likely to accept pearl millet — a hardy, gluten-free grain that has been cultivated for centuries in rugged, drought conditions in Africa and India — as an acceptable substitute in recipes that use wheat flour.
The challenge of introducing an alternative ingredient is always whether or not consumers will like the taste. To understand how U.S. consumers might take to this wheat alternative, researchers from Drexel’s Food Lab in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, joined colleagues from CUNY, Brooklyn College, Penn and the Monell Center to, conduct two pilot studies on sensory perception and liking of whole grain, United States pearl millet. Their findings were recently published in the journal Foods.
The results of the study showed that fermented pearl millet flour can successfully replace up to 20% of whole wheat flour in sandwich-style whole grain bread without affecting consumer acceptance or willingness to purchase it. Beyond this amount, however, flavor acceptability declined, which emphasizes the need to balance nutritional improvements with sensory appeal, according to the researchers.
Read More: Drexel University
Pearl millet growing in a field. (Photo Credit: Drexel University)
