Effect of fermentation by amylolytic lactic acid bacteria, in process combinations, on characteristics of rice/soybean slurries: A new method for preparing high energy density complementary foods for young children

The use of amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) in new methods to prepare high energy density complementary foods for young children was investigated. Using gelatinised slurry, composed of a mixture of rice with soybean, fermentation kinetics by the ALAB Lactobacillus plantarum A6, and chemical and theological changes were studied at different dry matter (DM) contents. At high DM content (23%), it was possible to obtain a semi-liquid fermented gruel presenting the necessary characteristics to fulfil the energy requirement of young children. Furthermore, combination with spray-drying, as a post-treatment after fermentation by strain A6, had the additional advantage of enabling the use of spray-dried fermented flour to prepare gruels with higher DM content (30-33%) corresponding to 128-140 kcal/100 g of gruel. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.