Physicochemical properties of freshly baked and stored whole-wheat muffins with and without flaxseed meal

Whole-wheat muffins and batter were prepared with 0-5% flaxseed meal or by direct substitution of vegetable oil with flaxseed oil, and were evaluated for physicochemical properties. The storage properties of muffins were evaluated over 5 days at 0.44 relative vapor pressure (RVP) and ambient temperature. Batter viscosity increased from 2730 +/- 530 to 12,775 +/- 4425 cps with increasing flaxseed meal content while other properties were unaffected. When flaxseed meal was added at 5%, the maximum force for compression of freshly baked muffins increased from 369.6 +/- 3.0 to 594.6 +/- 10.2 g while the internal elasticity decreased from 60.2 +/- 0.5 to 55.4 +/- 1.6. Freshly baked muffins with flaxseed meal had lower color scores, L, and a values than control muffins. The storage stability of muffins was unaffected by the addition of flaxseed meal. Flaxseed meal or oil can be used in muffins to enhance the nutritional value without detrimentally changing the freshness or storage properties.