The objective of this work was to optimize the conditions of processing mixtures of Brazil nut with cassava flour through thermoplastic extrusion as a function of acceptability. A 2³ full factorial design was used for the production of the extrudates and the evaluation of the products was according to acceptability responses. An affective hedonic scale of 9 points was applied to evaluate global acceptability and a 5-point scale was used to evaluate purchase intention. The results of the response surface methodology indicated that increases in Brazil nut percentage, temperature and moisture increased global acceptability and purchase intention of the product, with an optimized processing region in the following conditions: temperature between 120 and 160 °C, Brazil nut percentage between 48 and 80% and moisture between 20 and 25%. If Brazil nut percentage, temperature and moisture of the mixture were too high or too low, global acceptability and purchase intention decreased. The highest acceptance and purchase intention in this study were found for the central points and indicate the validity of the model.
thermoplastic extrusion; Brazil nut; surface response methodology; acceptance
