• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.758-765
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• 2005

Instant powders that only require mixing with water prior to consumption can be produced by extrusion for use in products such as instant beverages. Both extrusion processing conditions and particle size of powder are important to end-product characteristics. In this study, a twin-screw extruder was used under various processing conditions (feed moisture, barrel temperature, and screw speed) to produce extrudates from soft wheat flour, which were ground to powders with particle size ranges of less than 93, 93-145, and $145-249\;{\mu}m$. Effects of adding soy lecithin to wheat flour before extrusion were also investigated. Water absorption, solubility, suspension viscosity, and dispersibility of wheat powders were related to specific. mechanical energy measured during extrusion. Powder particle size was important to instant properties, especially ease of dispersal in water and stability to sedimentation. Addition of lecithin significantly improved dispersibility of powders.