Development and characterization of apple pomace and finger millet-based pasta enriched with encapsulated micronutrient

•Ascorbic acid iron gluconate powder (AAIGP) encapsulation by spray drying.•Effect of wall materials on powder characterization was studied.•Application of AAIGP in Pasta for micronutrient fulfilment.•Pasta with AAIGP has masked metallic aftertaste and suppressed cooking loss. This research work focused on the incorporation of spray dried encapsulated ascorbic acid and iron gluconate powder in modified pasta. The production of the spray dried powder was composed of maltodextrin (MD 2.2–2.8 %), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC 0.2–0.8 %) as wall materials in varying percentages, and core material consisting of iron gluconate IG (1.5 %). Among the different formulations, IGP1 yielded better iron content (44.2 ± 0.35 mg/g), hygroscopicity (21.64 ± 0.18 %), and a fewer amount of surface iron content (1.59 ± 0.22 %). IGP1 was selected for the further addition of the ascorbic acid in a ratio of AA: Fe (6:1) by weight percentage followed by the spray drying with the same parameters. The encapsulated spray dried ascorbic acid iron gluconate powder (AAIGP) was produced and incorporated in the apple pomace finger millet-based pasta at 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 %. The pasta was selected based on the initial study conducted for the preparation of the most suitable pasta formulation (P1) that includes finger millet (10 %), apple pomace powder (4 %), HPMC (2 %), and durum semolina (84 %). The P1 fortified with AAIGP at 0.5 % addition level retained the iron content (23.74 ± 0.08 mg/100 g) and ascorbic acid content (87.51±0.11 mg/100 g) after cooking loss as suggested by the recommended dietary allowances (RDA), especially for the adolescent age-group. [Display omitted]