Researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) have patented a biscuit which is made from teff flour, suitable for celiac patients, and, thanks to its nutritional properties, it is ideal for sportsmen, diabetics and people with anemia.
This biscuit is the result of researchers at the Department of Food Technology of the E.T.S Agronomics Engineering at the UPM. The biscuit was prepared by adding small amounts of natural ingredients to teff flour, which is a gluten free cereal used in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Thus, they avoided adding any type of fat or artificial thickener, unlike other free gluten food.
Its added value consists of its unique sensory attributes and nutritional value very high, which makes that the cookie is an interesting solution for different segments of the population (athletes, diabetics and people with anemia). It also has a lower price than similar products on the market.
One of the main problems of producers of cooked food derived from free gluten cereals is the modification of the rheological properties of mass due to that the viscoelastic gluten network is not developed.
Teff flour, an ancient crop in Ethiopia and Eritrea but unknown in Spain, are cereals whose flour is rich in carbohydrates of slow assimilation and in fiber. These compounds have a high capacity to absorb water and act also as binder in the dough, alleviating the problems deriving from the absence of gluten in cereal.
The product, patented by professors of the UPM Mº Jesús Callejo and Wendu Tesfaye, contain teff flour, suitable proportions of skimmed milk, nonfat plain yogurt, brown sugar, defatted cocoa powder, orange zest and hazelnuts.