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Cereal Foods World, Vol. 65, No. 2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/CFW-65-2-0014
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​​​Pseudocereals for Global Food Production
Regine Schoenlechner1 and Denisse Bender2

Department of Food Science and Technology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria

1 Corresponding author. Department of Food Science and Technology, BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 1 47654 75240; E-mail: regine.schoenelchner@boku.ac.at

2 Tel: +43 1 47654 75246; E-mail: denisse.bender@boku.ac.at


© 2020 Cereals & Grains Association

Abstract

Pseudocereals are a group of plants that produce starch-rich seeds that can be used in food applications similarly to cereal grains. The most widely known representatives include buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, and canihua, which is less well known. All of these pseudocereals have good nutritional compositions, with high concentrations of essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals, and some vitamins. Starch granules in pseudocereals are among the smallest measured, and the starch is characterized by low amylose content (except for buckwheat). The resulting differences in the starch properties of pseudocereals (processing properties similar to waxy-type cereal starches), as well as differences in seed morphology, determine their functional properties. Pseudocereals exhibit high viscosity, water-binding capacity, and swelling capability and good freeze–thaw stability. Additionally, they are gluten-free. Traditional pseudocereal food processes include cooking, popping, roasting, and fermentation, which are used in the production of porridges, soups, stews, and sweet desserts. Products made with pseudocereals do not require large adaptions to processing steps used with cereals. Bakery products and pasta are produced either with flour blends of pseudocereals and cereals, with the main objective to increase the nutritional properties of the final product, or they are made with 100% pseudocereal flour for the gluten-free foods market, which has been one of the main drivers of increased pseudocereal use. Today, breakfast cereals, snack foods, granolas, and cereal-based beverages are the main pseudocereal-based food products sold on the market.




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