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COVID‐19 pandemic has increased the demand for antioxidant and micronutrient‐rich foods that are easy to prepare, consume, and require less handling. In this research, we worked on the development of nutritious extruded snack made from barnyard millet, defatted soy flour, Indian gooseberry powder, and rice flour. Box–Behnken Design of Response Surface Methodology was utilized to determine the influence of process variables viz; blend ratio of barnyard millet and defatted soy flour, extruder barrel temperature, and Indian gooseberry powder on nutritional and organoleptic properties of snack. Optimized extruded snack were attained at blend ratio (6:1), barrel temperature (115°C), and Indian gooseberry (12.25 g/100 g of total flour). Extruded snack presented good overall acceptability along with high fiber (16.84 g/100 g), protein (18.91 g/100 g), total phenol (67.51 mg GAE/100 g), and total flavonoid (153.61 mg RE/100 g) content. Microbial analysis indicates that extruded snack can be stored for up to 60 days without microbial contamination. Novelty impact statement: The pandemic has made people refocus on the foods that are nutritious, yet take less time to prepare and handle. In the present research, we explored the use of locally available and low‐cost barnyard millet and defatted soy flour coupled with Indian gooseberry powder—a rich source of antioxidants and rice flour for the preparation of nutritious snack. Extrudates developed with a higher blend ratio at higher barrel temperature and enriched with Indian gooseberry content displayed excellent nutritional, bioactive, and dimensional characteristics. The study will help formulate extruded snack with high protein, antioxidants, as well as fiber content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) were coated by dissolving four different organic coating material viz. apple peel powder (1.0 to 1.4% wt/vol), carboxymethyl cellulose (1.2 to 1.8% wt/vol), tartaric acid (0.375%), and glycerol monostearate (1%) in distilled water and dipping the mushroom in coating solution for 45 to 75 s. Experiments were conducted using response surface methodology and the coated as well as uncoated samples were stored at ambient and refrigerated conditions. Various quality parameters of button mushroom were measured. Results indicated that the mushroom coated at optimum condition (apple peel powder 1.17% wt/vol, carboxymethyl cellulose 1.8%, and dipping time 75 s) maintained high level of quality parameters and were used to develop the organic coating powder. The use of coating powder for coating under ambient and refrigerated condition has the potential to maintain mushroom quality and prolong its postharvest shelf life up to 5 and 9 days, respectively. Practical applications: The efficacy of developed organic coating powder tested on button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) shows some prominent practical application for fresh produce. From the analysis and interpretation of the experimental results it was found that the developed organic coating powder was effectively increased the shelf life of button mushroom and also maintained its quality characteristics during storage, and hence, can be a promising as an edible coating for practical use as well as in commercial postharvest applications to enhance the storage life of button mushroom and other fresh produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Button mushroom cubes of constant cross-sectional area (0.75 cm × 1.5 cm) and varying thickness (2 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm) were freeze-dried. Pressure (0.04, 0.07, and 0.10mbar), primary drying temperature (-2°C, -5°C, and -8°C), and secondary drying temperature (25°C, 28°C, and 31°C) were taken as drying parameters. The protein, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant contents were taken as quality estimates for freeze-dried mushrooms. It was observed that the secondary drying temperature affected the protein (p < 0.05) and antioxidant content (p < 0.01) significantly, whereas all three freeze-drying parameters affected the ascorbic acid content with higher effect due to temperature parameters (p < 0.01) as compared to pressure (p < 0.05). The optimized values for protein, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant content obtained using response surface methodology were 7.28 ± 0.56mg/g, 26.92±0.87 mg/100 g, and 8.60±0.44mg/g, respectively, as compared to 8.43±0.21mg/g, 28.00±0.53 mg/100 g, and 9.10±0.10mg/g, respectively, for fresh button mushrooms. The optimum values for process variables were obtained as 0.09mbar, 0.36 cm, and -7.53°C and 25.03°C for pressure, sample thickness, and primary and secondary drying temperatures, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]