Development of Gluten Free Vermicelli and their Acceptability Evaluation

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is the major cause of celiac disease. Vermicelli is an extruded product commercially prepared using refined wheat flour. Vermicelli prepared from refined wheat is rich in gluten which is responsible for gluten intolerance and refining of wheat further reduces the nutritional quality of vermicelli. The objective of our research work is to overcome the above mentioned problems by utilizing the water chestnut, potato, buckwheat, Bengal gram, pumpkin seeds flour for the formulation of gluten free vermicelli and to optimize the ingredients for vermicelli preparation based on the quality parameters. Various composition mixtures like standard and variant A (5% chestnut and 5% buckwheat), B (10% chestnut & 10% buckwheat), C (15% chestnut & 15% buckwheat) had chosen for the experimental work for proximate analysis, phytochemical screening and antioxidant properties in gluten free vermicelli. Sensory evaluation was undertaken by using 9-point hedonic scale. The proximate analysis of standard product showed the 6.6 moisture, 8.0 ash, 0.8 fat, 0.7 fiber, 4.5 iron and 54 calcium, 0.2% vitamin C respectively. The proximate analysis for all the variations of formulated vermicelli was done. The study concluded that B variant is more acceptable as compare to other along with standard. Thus these ingredients can be successfully used for combating celiac disease.