Effects of Replacing Breadcrumbs with Buckwheat, Chickpea, Corn and Millet Flour in Gluten-Free Meatball Formulation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different gluten-free flours on the physicochemical, textural and sensory properties of meatballs. Five different groups of meatballs were produced: C: control meatballs with breadcrumbs, Gf1: meatballs with buckwheat flour, Gf2: meatballs with chickpea flour, Gf3: meatballs with corn flour and Gf4: meatballs with millet flour. The chickpea flour increased the protein content of raw meatballs (P < 0.05). The cooking yield results were higher in gluten-free meatballs than in control samples (P < 0.05). Chickpea flour (Gf2) and corn flour (Gf3) were the most effective flours for reducing the diameter of meatballs (P < 0.05). The highest antioxidant activity was found in the meatballs with buckwheat flour (Gf1) (P < 0.05). The chickpea flour improved the texture of the meatball samples (P < 0.05), while corn and millet flour increased the hardness and chewiness values of the meatballs (P < 0.05). Millet flour decreased the flavour score compared to the control (P < 0.05), whereas the other gluten-free flours had no significant effect on all sensory properties of the meatballs (P > 0.05). This study suggests that chickpea flour had a better effect on the quality characteristics of meatballs among gluten-free flours.