Abstract
In this study, the effect of supplementing wheat germ in the formulation of tarhana, a fermented Turkish soup, was investigated to determine the physicochemical, functional, powder, and sensory properties. For this purpose, wheat germ was added to the tarhana formulation using five different replacement ratios (100 + 0, 90 + 10, 80 + 20, 70 + 30, and 50 + 50% weight wheat flour + weight wheat germ). The replacement of wheat flour with wheat germ resulted in the following: a higher moisture content, a*, browning (BI) and yellowness (YI) indexes, total color change (ΔE*), pH, ash, protein, cellulose, fat, and total phenolic contents, and foaming capacity values and lower Hue angle, chroma, L*, starch content, water hydration and oil holding capacities, wettability time, hygroscopicity, and the Carr index and Hausner ratio values (p < 0.05). The changes in the BI, YI, ΔE*, protein, cellulose, and starch contents, water hydration, and oil holding capacities, and foaming capacity values were found to be linear depending on the replacement percentage. Results of the chemical analysis of the tarhana samples revealed that the ash, protein, and cellulose contents of tarhana can be significantly increased depending on the replacement percentage (p < 0.05). A highly acceptable tarhana sample, selected by the panelists, that closely resembled the control was produced from a 90% wheat flour + 10% wheat germ mixture.