Purdue Students Advance in Nationwide Baking Competition

The tuition and fee recommendations will now go to the Executive Committee for a May 31 public hearing

Purdue University says four students from its Department of Food Science have been selected as finalists for the American Society of Baking product development competition.

The annual competition accepts entries from university teams across the country. The 2019 challenge asked participants to create a flatbread with one or more ancient grains.

Team members include food science graduate students Sarah Corwin, Pablo Torres Aquilar, Anbuhkani Muniandy and Rachel Jackson. The students created a pita pocket and will present it in Chicago later this month.

 “Instead of the requisite 15 percent ancient grains we decided to use 21 percent ancient grains,” Corwin said in a news release. “We also decided to develop a frozen product so we didn’t have to use preservatives. Ultimately, the taste and texture is like a whole grain pita pocket.”

Products will be judged by texture, taste, sustainability and potential for successful commercial adoption.

The Purdue team said the opportunity to compete could give them the momentum to introduce their pita pocket into the marketplace.