Influência da granulometria da matéria-prima na expansão de extrusados de milho/Influence of raw material particle size on the expansion of extruded corn

In order to produce extruded corn snacks, industry has usually employed grits (clean, degerminated corn, milled to a medium particle size). However, aiming at reducing production costs, extruded corn snack producers have been replacing grits by corn flour due to lower costs. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of corn particle size on the snack expansion rate, texture and sensory acceptance. Thus, three different milled corn particle sizes were used in this study: grits, mimoso corn flour and fine mimoso corn flour. The expansion rate was analyzed from the ratio between the mean snack diameter and the diameter of the matrix used, and the texture was analyzed using aTA-XT Plus Texture Analyser (Stable Micro Systems) with the WB-12 probe. The results obtained proved the influence of particle size on the physical parameters, but there was no change in product acceptance, indicating the feasibility of replacing grits by corn flour to produce snacks, when considering the final product.