# Fresh Broccoli in Fortified Snack Pellets: Extrusion-Cooking Aspects and Physical Characteristics
###### Abstract  
The aim of the study was to obtain a new type of potato-based snack pellets fortified with fresh broccoli addition and to estimate their extrusion-cooking parameters (processing stability) and selected physical properties. In this work, fresh broccoli was added at varying levels (10, 20, and 30%) to potato-based pellets--a half-product for expanded ready-to-eat food snacks. The obtained results showed that the assessed variables: moisture content, screw speed, and amount of added fresh broccoli, have significantly affected the extrusion-cooking process and final product physical properties. Accordingly, increasing fresh broccoli by up to 30% induced higher efficiency of the extrusion-cooking process, lower energy consumption, a lower expansion index, lower bulk density values, and proper durability. Application of fresh broccoli may also significantly reduce water consumption during processing and save energy due to the omission of the vegetable drying step. We recommend the application of up to 30% fresh broccoli in newly developed extruded snack pellet formulations. Fresh broccoli, a valuable vegetable source of health-promoting substances, may be an attractive additive in snack pellet half-products with no negative effect on processing. extrusion-cooking; fresh broccoli; snack pellets; selected physical properties; processing parameters +
Footnote †: journal: Applied sciences  
Article  
[PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON] Fresh Broccoli in Fortified Snack Pellets: Extrusion-Cooking Aspects and Physical Characteristics  
[PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; Fresh Broccoli in Fortified Snack Pellets: Extrusion-Cooking Aspects and Physical Characteristics  
[PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; Fresh Broccoli in Fortified Snack Pellets: Extrusion-Cooking Aspects and Physical Characteristics  
[PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON]; Fresh Broccoli, B.; [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; Fresh Broccoli, B. [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]; [PERSON], [PERSON]; Fresh Broccoli, B. The anticancer activity of broccoli consumption is due to the high presence of glucosionolates, which, when exposed to bacterial microflora, break down into isothiamins and indoles, chemicals responsible for protecting cells from oxidative stress [9]. In addition, broccoli's sulforaphane has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory and cancer-prevention properties [10; 11]. Sulforaphane is synthesized from glucoraphan. All portions of this plant can be turned into nutritious foods for both the avoidance and treatment of certain ongoing diseases [12; 13]. Processing vegetables, especially broccoli, results in the loss of important chemicals [14; 15]. Indeed, high-pressure and regular cooking have been found to reduce total glucosionolates by 33% and 55%, respectively, as compared to raw broccoli [16]. Boiling in water causes antioxidant leaching, which increases with cooking time [17]. As a result, it is vital to investigate changes in component composition produced by various processing steps. Extrusion-cooking is a method that can be applied in food manufacturing, packaging material production, and the alteration of various plant raw materials [18; 19; 20; 21]. One food application is the production of various snacks. Broccoli can be employed in these items as a functional ingredient. So far, studies on maize extrudates using broccoli flour and olive paste have been conducted.