Technological properties and functional food potential of oilseed cakes

Abstract

Introduction. The study aims to optimize processing methods, including grinding and sifting, to produce high-quality oilseed cakes flour suitable for various food applications. The focus is on the water absorption capacity necessary for flour products, leveraging by-products from the oil and fat industry. Materials and methods. Oilseed cake samples from sunflower, linseed, pumpkin, walnut, and almond seeds were analyzed for particle size, sedimentation value, and moisture content. The Roseboom, Gibbs, and Stokes triangular method was used to formulate dough samples with oilseed cake flour, wheat flour, and water, developing five recipes to assess the technological properties of flour products. Results and discussion. The study of the properties of analyzed oilseed cakes and their flours, focusing on bakery flour production was performed. Pressing at temperatures reaching 50–60°C produced varied cake forms, with flaxseed (0.5–2.0 mm thick, 10–15 cm long) and almond cakes (1.0–3.0 mm thick, 1–5 cm long) being suitable for fine flour due to their size. Sunflower seeds produced the highest oil yield at 62%, compared to almonds at 47%. Almonds had the lowest water loss at 8.2±0.3%, suggesting the need for specific storage and processing conditions for the resulting cake to prevent biological spoilage. Flaxseed and walnut cakes were homogeneous, needing minimal sifting, whereas sunflower and pumpkin oilseed cakes required mandatory sifting due to peel fragments. Almond and walnut cakes had large particle sizes (0.2–3.2 mm), affecting flour texture and requiring individual processing. Concerning sedimentation value, except for pumpkin flour, all samples show high values (≥40 ml), which requires the regulation of the amount of water in the production of flour products. Conclusion. To obtain flour from oilseed cake, the optimal dough composition was determined. The formulation includes 40% water, with a recommended ratio of 1:1 between oilseed cake flour and wheat flour.