ABSTRACT
During the last decades, extrusion has been raised as an innovative technique for the development of novel food products. Its versatility allows the combination of different raw materials, which facilitates the generation of new products with improved nutritional profiles, enhanced sensory or functional characteristics, or better physicochemical properties at low costs. Extrusion can also be considered a valuable tool for food waste utilization, thus helping to close the loop of the food value chain. Due to its unique characteristics of blending, cooking, and forming in the same step by a combination of mechanical energy and thermal input, extrusion allows the incorporation of a wide variety of undervalued grains or by-products from other food production lines, thus promoting a circular economy and contributing to the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. Nevertheless, to achieve desired characteristics, it is necessary to consider the thermo-mechanical transformations undergone in the process by the main components of the selected ingredients.
In this chapter, we present general tips for the management of the different extrusion processing conditions, the inclusion of various ingredients of interest, and their effects on the final products– characteristics. Finally, we review the recent advances in food extrudates developments.
