A Study on the Development and Quality Evaluation of an Instant Pearl Millet Sweet Premix: Influence of Roasting on Physical, Functional and Storage Stability

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to develop and evaluate an instant pearl millet sweet premix and to assess the effect of roasting on its physical, functional and storage characteristics. Six formulations were prepared using pearl millet, jowar, ragi, nuts, jaggery powder and date sugar and evaluated using a 9-point hedonic scale. Formulation PMRSC, containing 25% pearl millet flour, 12.5% jowar flour, 12.5% ragi flour, 10% nuts, 20% jaggery powder and 20% date sugar, recorded the highest overall acceptability score of 8.20 and was selected for further evaluation. The roasted premix had a bulk density of 0.55 ± 0.00 g/mL, an approximate tapped bulk density of 0.81 g/mL, a Hausner ratio of 1.47 ± 0.00, water absorption capacity of 106.9 ± 0.6% and oil absorption capacity of 116.7 ± 6.7%. During 75 days of storage, alcoholic acidity, free fatty acids, lipase activity and peroxide value increased in both roasted and control premixes; however, the roasted premix showed lower final values for all four deterioration indicators. The findings demonstrate that roasting improved the functional and powder-flow characteristics of the selected premix and reduced the rate of storage-related quality deterioration, supporting its potential as a convenient millet-based instant food product.