Characterization of toasted cereal flours from the Canary Islands (gofios)

• 7 Physico-chemical parameters are determined (moisture, ash, pH, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) in 64 gofio samples.
• Samples are classified by cluster analysis, PCA and LDA by using the physico-chemical results.
• MIR spectra were obtained.
• Chemometrics methods applied to some regions of the MIR spectra allow the classification of the gofios.

In this work, different types of gofio produced in the Canary Islands were characterized on the basis of physico-chemical parameters as well as spectral features. An overall of 7 physico-chemical parameters (moisture, ash, pH, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) were determined in 64 samples from different cereals and legumes, and IR spectra of all samples were registered. The chemometric processing of both, metal ions contents determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the MIR spectra, with various techniques including cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and discriminant analysis enabled the accurate characterization and classification of the gofio samples according to the grain used in their obtaining process.