Preparation of semolina from foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and evaluation of its quality characteristics

Foxtail millet was evaluated for its potential to prepare semolina. It was observed that the millet needed pre-treatment to obtain uniform sized semolina fractions. The pre-treated millet was evaluated for dehusking efficiency, hardness, color and milling yield of the semolina fractions. It was observed that steaming was beneficial compared to roasting and dry heat treatment. The millet steamed for 15 min was polished to two different grades and milled to prepare coarse and fine semolina. The yield of the coarse semolina was 75% and that of the fine semolina was 18%. It was observed that fat, protein, dietary fiber and ash contents decreased with increase in the degree of polishing. The fine semolina fractions contained slightly higher fat and protein contents compared to their coarse counterpart. The solubility index of coarse fractions was higher than that of the fine fractions at ambient temperature and the trend reversed at 97 °C. The gelatinization temperature of fine fraction was comparatively higher than that of the coarse semolina while viscosity parameters were higher for the coarse semolina compared to the fine fraction. The studies indicated that the millet with 3% polishing was suitable for the preparation of semolina with retained nutrient contents.