Edible ethanol byproduct is source of novel foods.

With an increasing percentage of the U.S. corn harvest going to ethanol production, some are questioning the wisdom of taking away corn as food for consumers. USDA-ARS scientists are developing techniques that would at least partially allay that concern. They are creating new foods from an edible byproduct of ethanol production--distiller's dried grains (DDGs). The new foods could include cookies, breads and pastas that are low in calories and carbohydrates, but high in protein and fiber.

DDGs are a cereal byproduct of the distillation process. There are two main sources of these grains. The traditional source was from brewers. More recently, ethanol plants have become a growing source. DDGs are created in distilleries by drying mash. They are eventually sold for a variety of applications, usually as fodder for livestock. Today, many new ethanol facilities are designed for the production of food-grade ingredients.

Researchers are working on many fronts to find new uses for the growing supply of DDGs as ethanol production roars along. One such front involves making a better cookie out of distiller's grains. ARS scientists are working with colleagues in the Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Hospitality at South Dakota State University to make cookies with DDGs flour, substituting DDGs for more than 50% of the wheat flour normally used.

The cookies are smaller than those made with all-wheat flour because the high-protein/low-starch combination keeps the cookie batter from spreading as easily as batter made with 100% wheat, but the batter bakes consistently. The main problem currently involves consumer appeal. The fermentation process used to make ethanol often imparts a bitter off-flavor and odor to distiller's grains. That's why, to date, there have been no commercial foods made with ethanol byproducts.

However, DDGs flour is often more nutritious than regular flour. That's because the processing of ethanol tends to concentrate the grain's protein and fiber three- to nine-fold. Since 2000, there has been only one published study on food products made with DDGs, we're told, other than the studies by the ARS scientists and colleagues.

Further information. Kurt Rosentrater, USDA-ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, 2923 Medary Ave., Brookings, SD 57006; phone: 605-693-5248; fax: 605-693-5240; email: kurt.rosentrater@ars.usda.gov.