Development of mushroom-enriched soup mix and nachos using oyster mushroom powder

Introduction

Over the years, increased consumer awareness about health, nutrition, and sustainability has increased the demand for functional foods that offer health benefits aside from being nutritive. Concerns about climate change, food security, and environmental destruction have added urgency to the development of sustainable and nutritious food sources. It is under this circumstance that mushrooms have come to be seen as climate-resilient food crops that are beneficial not only in providing nutrition but also in ensuring environmental sustainability. The mushrooms especially the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) have received much attention owing to their nutritional composition, which consists of high-quality proteins, fiber, minerals, and various bioactive compounds (Aditya et al., 2024) [1] . The oyster mushroom is low on fat and caloric content and is a good source of iron, zinc, potassium, B vitamins, and antioxidants (Timaná et al., 2024) [2] . Apart from the nutritive value, the oyster mushroom contains bioactive compounds like beta-glucans, phenolics, and polysaccharides with antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and cholesterol-lowering effects. In terms of climate change and sustainability, one of the most significant benefits associated with oyster mushrooms is that they can be grown using a variety of agricultural wastes like wheat straw, paddy straw, and lignocellulose wastes. Besides helping to recycle waste and promoting circular food systems, this also helps save space, energy, and water compared to the production of meat proteins. Moreover, growing mushrooms has a lower greenhouse gas emission potential which makes them a good choice for climate-smart nutrition which seeks to mitigate the effects of food systems on the environment while improving nutrition outcomes. However, fresh mushrooms are very perishable due to their high moisture content (Oladeji et. al., 2025; Tolera & Abera 2017) [3,4] . Drying has been among the most popular means of preservation which extends shelf-life and ensures storage stability. The method used in the drying process influences greatly the nutritional value, sensory characteristics, and functionality of the resulting mushroom powder. Conventional sun drying, blanching prior to sun drying, and oven drying have been among the common methods, all affecting the products differently in terms of nutrient content, color, texture, and bioactive compounds. Inclusion of the mushroom powder in common foods such as soups and snacks represents an ideal method of increasing nutrient intake without having to change much the eating patterns. Instant soup mix and multi-grain baked snacks represent common products which have been increasing in popularity because of their high acceptability (Pamalka et al., 2026) [5] . Such products make ideal vehicles for delivery of functional ingredients like mushroom powder to improve protein quality, fiber content and micronutrient levels especially iron and zinc. Consequently, the current research was carried out in order to examine the impact of various drying techniques on the nutritional quality of oyster mushroom flour and the formulation of mushroom fortified soup powder and multigrain baked nachos. The objectives of this research work were to examine the sensory acceptance and nutritional improvement by incorporating the various amounts of mushroom powder into the products.

Materials and Methods

Raw Materials

Fresh oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) were chosen for the development of enriched mushroom soup mix and multigrain baked nachos. The mushrooms were sourced from the Department of Plant Pathology/Soil Science of C.S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (CSAUA&T), Kanpur. The mushrooms that were chosen for processing were fresh and healthy. Other ingredients that were needed for product development like corn flour, milk powder, barley flour, whole wheat flour, ragi flour, rice flour, salt, black pepper, mixed herbs, oregano, butter, and baking powder were obtained from the local market of Kanpur city.

Processing of Oyster Mushrooms

The following steps were conducted prior to drying the mushrooms:  Selection: Discarding of damaged or malformed mushrooms  Washing: Thorough washing in clean drinking water to clean off any dirt or impurities  Straining: Removal of excess water using a colander and wiping with a clean muslin cloth

Preparation of Oyster Mushroom Powder (OMP)

Oyster mushroom powder was prepared using three different drying methods:

Sun Drying (SD)

One kg of prepared mushrooms was evenly spread in stainless steel trays and dried under the sun for 4-5 days.

The drying process was repeated until mushrooms were dry and hard. About 100-120 g of dried mushrooms was collected in sealed containers.

Blanching and Sun Drying (BSD)

The cleaned mushrooms were subjected to blanching by boiling them in water (100 °C) for 2 minutes and then immediately cooling them in cold water, drained and dried in the sun using the same method as sun drying until a crisp consistency was attained.

Oven Drying (OD)

Washed mushrooms (1 kg) were spread out evenly in trays and subjected to oven drying using hot air at 60 °C for 6 to 8 hours until thoroughly dried. Once cooled to room temperature, dried mushrooms (100 to 120 g) were kept in air-tight containers. All the dried samples were reduced to powdered form using a laboratory grinder and kept in air-tight glass bottles at cool and dry conditions for further use.

Development of Mushroom-Enhanced Foods Soup Mix

The soup mix was made using the oyster mushroom powder, corn flour, milk powder, black pepper powder, oregano, and salt. The mushroom powder that was made using three drying processes was mixed in an equal proportion (1:1:1). The recipes for soup mixes were prepared by adding four different levels of mushroom powder:

Multigrain Baked Nachos

The preparation of mushroom-added baked nachos was done with the use of barley flour, whole wheat flour, ragi flour, rice flour, oyster mushroom powder, herbal mixture, butter, baking powder, and salt. The oyster mushroom powder was added to different levels, namely 10%, 15%, and 25%.

Sensory Evaluation

The sensory analysis of the formulated soup mixture and baked nachos was done through the use of a 9-point hedonic scale to evaluate appearance, color, taste, flavor, texture, and general acceptability. A semi-trained panel was used, and mean scores determined. The results were subjected to statistical tests at the 5% significance level.

Nutritional Analysis

Nutritional composition analysis of powdered oyster mushrooms and developed products were conducted following standard methods for moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, total ash, and carbohydrate (difference method) as per AOAC standards of 1980 and 1995. Energy content calculations were done using Atwater coefficients. Mineral contents (iron and zinc) were determined using colorimetry method through dry ashing following procedure outlined by Ranganna (1986).

Results and Discussion Chemical Composition of Oyster Mushroom Powder

The most effective nutritional preservation was exhibited by oven drying due to the minimum moisture level (7.40%), maximum protein (29.80%), and maximum crude fiber (7.80%) content. The controlled temperature and fast drying reduced enzyme breakdown and loss of nutrients. Moderate levels of nutrients were maintained in the case of sun drying, while the blanching then sun drying led to increased moisture and decreased protein level. This is in agreement with past literature (Muyanja et al., 2014; Majeed et al., 2017) [6,7] .

Sensory Evaluation of Mushroom-Enriched Soup Mix

Sensory scores increased with an increase in inclusion of mushroom powder to 15% (T 2 ). The treatment T 2 scored the highest mean scores for appearance, color, taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptance. While the difference between treatments was not statistically significant, the panellists always preferred T 2 .

The superior sensory performance can be associated with the umami flavor components found in oyster mushrooms that enhanced the taste and flavor of the product without affecting its color and texture negatively. This has been observed by Masiko et al., (2023) [8] and Dhanapal et al., (2023) [9] .

Sensory Evaluation of Mushroom-Enriched Baked Nachos

Nacho chips with mushrooms also performed better in terms of sensory attributes with an increase in percentage of mushrooms. T 2 treatment having 15% of mushroom powder resulted in maximum scores for appearance, taste, texture, and overall acceptance. The crispy texture and flavor profile could be attributed to the synergy between fiber and protein from mushrooms with cereal flour.This is in line with the study of Rathore et al., (2017) [10] and Sharma et al., (2017) [11] .

Nutritional Composition of Mushroom-Enriched Soup Mix

With an increase in mushroom powder, the percentage of protein, ash, crude fiber, iron, and zinc content increased significantly, while the percentage of carbohydrate content reduced. The maximum percentage of protein (15.9%), fiber (6.4%), iron (3.0 mg/100 g), and zinc (2.0 mg/100 g) was recorded in T 3 . There was no significant change in the energy content with different levels of treatments. This shows the efficiency of the use of oyster mushroom powder as a rich source of protein and minerals, just like those found by Siyame (2021) [12] and Jinzhuang et al., (2025) [13] . [14] and Schneider et al., (2025) [15] .

Conclusion

The above study is clear evidence of the capability of oyster mushroom powder as a nutritious component to develop nutrition-rich food items. In comparison to the other two drying processes, oven drying was found to be most efficient in retaining the nutritional quality as it generated mushroom powder that had the least moisture and the most amount of protein and crude fiber. The addition of mushroom powder in soup mix and multigrain baked nachos significantly increased their nutrition values through increased levels of protein, fiber, ash, iron, and zinc contents but decreased carbohydrate content. Sensory tests revealed that soup mixes and nachos with 15% of mushroom powder were the most acceptable to consumers.

On the whole, this study showed the possibility of using oyster mushroom powder for developing functional foods out of regular soup mixes and snacks. These value-added foods could be considered suitable for commercialization.

References

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