Formulation and standardization of millet-based ready-to-cook soup mix

Soup is an appetiser of semi-liquid consistency consumed by all age groups. The study faced challenges in optimizing the millet-based soup’s formulation for quality and stability while ensuring consumer acceptance of this less familiar product. The present study has been designed to develop a soup mix by utilising finger millet and foxtail millet flour. A total of thirteen treatments of millet-based soup mix were formulated using 10, 20, 30 and 40 percent finger millet and foxtail millet flour individually and in mixed forms, i.e. FiM1, FiM2, FiM3, FiM4, FoM1, FoM2, FoM3, FoM4, MM1, MM2, MM3, MM4 and the control from corn starch only. All the treatments were subjected to assessment of sensory scores, nutritional composition, microbial load and shelf-life using standard procedures. The soup mix prepared with 30% finger millet flour (FiM3), 20% foxtail millet flour (FoM2) and 60% mixed millet flour (MM3) was highly acceptable by panellists for their sensory scores. The FiM3 had higher content of Fibre (2.28 vs. 1.48g), total ash (1.6 vs. 0.79g), fat (0.6 vs. 0.28g), protein (3.05 vs. 1.52g), calcium (119.07 vs. 16.47mg), iron (1.64 vs. 0.64mg) and phosphorus (241.07 vs. 164.14mg) as compared to the control per 100g. Foxtail millet soup mix (FoM3) had more total ash (1.58g), Fibre (3.52g), fat (1.51g), protein (5.08g), calcium (22.28mg), iron (1.05mg) and phosphorus (218.78mg) than that of the control per 100g. Mixed millet soup mix (MM3) contained significantly higher concentrations of fat (1.88g), protein (7.2g), total ash (2.2g), fibre (4.35g), calcium (127.92mg), iron (2.48mg) and phosphorus (327.92mg). The microbial load of accepted treatments increased with a decrease in sensory scores throughout the storage period.