ABSTRACT
Flaking is a traditional and basic concept of cereal processing meant to produce simple flaked products. Flaked products have a global demand that has necessarily improvised the traditional techniques to industry-scale machinery-generated products. The technique of flaking has significant importance for researchers and technologists as it causes marked alteration in the nutrient distribution and physicochemical characteristics of the grains. The basic steps of moistening, steaming, and mechanical pressing results in pregelatinization of starch. Importantly, simultaneous rapid dehydration limits retrogradation, which results in the characteristic hygroscopic nature of the flaked gelatinized cereal products. Like any other dry heat processed moistened grain product, starch behavior in flaked grains is peculiar and requires different physicochemical analytical approaches than other gelatinized-retrograded products. The flaking approach and severity of processing play important roles in determining the final product characteristics. Process variables need to be precisely controlled for flaked products. Modern value addition modes like surface coating and inter-grain agglomerated products have created newer research dimensions involving flaked cereal products. This chapter discusses the nutraceutical and techno-functional properties of flaked cereal products.
