Puffing of okara/rice blends using a rice cake machine

Abstract

Okara is the by-product of soymilk and tofu manufactures. It is cheap and nutritious having great potential to be applied in healthy snack foods. In this study, a puffed soy/rice cake product was developed and consumer tests were conducted. Soy/rice cakes were puffed from the mixture of extruded okara/rice pellets and parboiled rice using a rice cake machine. The experiment factorial design was 4 x 2 x 3 x 3 with two replications. This was a Split Plot Design. Main plot was okara pellets and parboiled rice. Subplots were moisture contents, heating temperatures and heating time. The cakes were evaluated for specific volume (SPV), texture, color and integrity. All the processing factors and most interactions had significant effects on the product attributes. The consumer tests indicated that the soy/rice cake containing 70% okara pellets was liked most.