Accelerated Aging of Foxtail Millet: Effect of Accelerating Aging Conditions on Physico‐Chemical, Functional, Cooking Properties, and Rancidity of Foxtail Millet

ABSTRACT

Accelerated aging (AA) of Foxtail Millet (FM) was carried out at three temperatures (40°C, 50°C, and 60°C) to simulate up to 180 days of ambient long‐term storage. The characteristics of the FM, including physicochemical, functional, cooking, and rancidity indicators, were measured and recorded at fixed time intervals. There was a notable decrease in moisture content from 12.90% ± 0.23% to 7.54% ± 0.21% as storage progressed, whereas true density (1341.23 ± 9.88 to 1405.18 ± 8.93 kg m ⁻³ ) and hardness (1.66 ± 0.02 to 1.91 ± 0.02 kg) increased. The color characteristics showed greater color differences (1.057 ± 0.012 to 6.592 ± 0.003) and browning indices (65.71 ± 0.00 to 86.97 ± 0.02) with aging; these changes were more pronounced at higher temperatures and longer storage durations. The functional properties increased, and gel consistency shifted (85.25 ± 0.77 to 40.49 ± 0.67 mm). The cooking properties were characterized by longer cooking times, a higher water uptake ratio, and increased gruel loss. Rancidity increased sharply over the period indicated by free fatty acid value (2.16% ± 0.10% to 9.09% ± 0.10% oleic acid), acid value (4.30 ± 0.12 to 18.08 ± 0.12 mg KOH/g), and peroxide value (1.33 ± 0.10 to 16.33 ± 0.13 meq/kg). Pearson correlation and principal component analysis demonstrated distinct relationships among quality attributes and effectively differentiated FM samples according to AA. AA effectively simulated long‐term storage‐induced quality deterioration of FM within a shortened timeframe. The findings highlight the potential of AA as a rapid, time‐efficient approach to assessing storage‐related quality changes and to guiding improved storage strategies for millets.