Influence of extrusion conditions on the colour of millet-legume extrudates using digital imagery

peer-reviewed Colour acts as one of the triggers for acceptance of snack foods. Digital imaging in conjunction with Adobe Photoshop can help identification of variations in the colour of extruded products. Response surface methodology-based central composite rotatable designed experiments were conducted to understand the colour components and overall acceptability (OAA) of extruded snacks made from millet–legume blends, 12–28% legume, at different moisture content (MC) of 12–24% wet basis (w.b.), extruded at varying die head temperatures (DHT) from 160–200 °C, barrel temperatures from 100–140 °C and screw speeds of 100–140 rpm. A simple digital camera was used for capturing the images of the extrudates. An L*a*b* colour model (where L* is the black/ white element, a* is green/red and b* is blue/yellow) was used for colour characterisation and OAA was determined by a hedonic scale. It was inferred from the analysis of the resulting statistically valid second order models for the responses that all the colour components were significantly affected by the amount of legume in the extruder feed and by the DHT. It was also observed that DHT, synergistically with other processing parameters, had a significant effect on all the responses. The OAA was highest for the extrudates with higher L* values. Optimum processing conditions were derived while the responses adhered to constraints. The responses of the extrudates prepared under optimum conditions exhibited no significant variation from model predicted values.