Influence of storage temperature and low-temperature hydrothermal treatments on the functional, physical and sensory properties of pearl millet pops

Millet are nutrient dense climate resilient grains attaining greater importance in sustainable food production and value chain of ready-to eat products. There are very few studies focusses on storage and pre-treatment effect on millets. Thus, this study focused on assessing the effect of storage conditions and pre-treatments given to enhance pearl millet shelflife on ready-to-eat food products (pops). Then the quality characteristics, physical quality and sensory attributes of pearl millet pops were further evaluated to know the effect on storage and pre-treatmentt of pearl millet on product development. The pearl millet samples were stored for 8 months under ambient conditions at 30 °C and refrigerated conditions at 4±1 °C. Two hydrothermal pre-treatment conditions (short soaking tempering method and thermosonication) were employed, and the grains were conditioned to a uniform moisture content prior to popping. Significant differences were observed among the treatments (p