Optimization of process parameters for production of sorghum pops

Popped sorghum is one of the ready-to-eat snacks which are popularly consumed by local growers. The popping of sorghum was carried out in a semiautomatic multigrain puffing cum popping machine based on HTST principle. Sorghum was dipped in normal water for 30 min and then kept 12 hours for conditioning in a muslin cloth at room temperature to equilibrate the moisture content throughout the grain. Pretreated sorghums was then fed to machine for popping. The optimization of the machine parameters contained two independent variables: popping temperature (°C) and stirrer speed (rpm) assessed at five levels of 170 to 210 °C and 30 to 50 rpm, respectively. Experiments were carried out using Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD). The experimental data was analysed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and the optimal values of process parameters was found as a popping temperature of 190 °C and stirrer speed of 40 rpm. The developed machine had popping efficiency, popping capacity, for sorghum pops were 85.87% and 48 kg/day, respectively.