Chemical composition, cooking quality, and consumer acceptance of pasta made with dried amaranth leaves flour

Pasta is a staple food in many countries. Amaranth is a pseudo-cereal being re-discovered because of its nutritional properties. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the green material of the amaranth plant (leaves) as a component for pasta production and its effect on the pasta quality and consumer acceptance. Dried amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) leaves and spinach leaves flours were prepared. Pasta samples were manufactured following a small-scale pilot procedure. Amaranth pasta samples were evaluated for its chemical composition, cooking quality, textural, and sensory/consumer acceptance. Results showed that pasta made with dried amaranth leaves had similar chemical composition (protein content: 14.18 g/100 g, Fe content: 9.1 mg/100 g), cooking quality (2.15 pasta weight increase, 4.47% residue loss), textural characteristics (firmness and adhesiveness), and sensory acceptance than green pasta made with dried spinach leaves. Since amaranth leaves have similar nutritional characteristics to spinach leaves and since this biomass in not currently used for food purposes, this study points out that amaranth leaves could be technically used for pasta production and that consumer acceptance of pasta made with amaranth green leaves flour is similar to that of pasta made with spinach.     

Effect of incorporation of amaranth flour on the quality of cookies

Studies were carried out on composite flour cookies by incorporating amaranth seed (Amaranthus gangeticus) flour, which is rich in protein at 0–35% levels, showed a small reduction in water absorption capacity from 58.0 to 56.5%, a considerable reduction in Farinograph stability from 3.0 to 1.5 min and increase in the mixing tolerance index from 40 to 120 BU of the dough. The pasting characteristics of the blends using rapid visco analyser (RVA) showed a reduction in peak viscosity, cold paste viscosity as well as break down viscosity from 261 to 192, 204 to 153 and 151 to 108 RVU, respectively. Incorporation of amaranth flour improved the colour of the cookies from pale cream to golden brown. The cookies became crispier which is evident from the reduction in the breaking strength value from 6.2 to 4.02 kg. Considering the colour, taste, flavour, surface appearance of the cookies, 25% incorporation of amaranth flour was found to be optimum. By the addition of glycerol mono stearate (GMS) and soy lecithin in combination at 0.5% level, the quality of the cookies further improved.     

Influence of semolina replacement with salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) powder on the physicochemical attributes of fresh pasta

This study evaluated the influence of the incorporation of salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) fish powder (SFP) into pasta production and the effect on pasta physicochemical attributes. Four replacement levels were tested (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) together with a control pasta (100% semolina). The effects on the chemical composition, physical properties (optimal cooking time, cooking loss, water absorption index, swelling index and colour and textural properties (firmness and extensibility) were analysed. The results demonstrated that pasta with SFP had increased protein (12.88–23.40%), lipid (0.46–7.20%), ash (0.39–0.57%) and energy (122.26–161.08 kcal) contents (P < 0.05), increased cooking time (6.30–8.30 min) and cooking loss (4.28–8.02%) compared with semolina control pasta. However, all pasta samples were in the acceptable range (8 g/100 g) for cooking loss. The addition of SFP resulted in significantly decreased swelling index (2.29–1.95), water absorption (105.46–81.62%) and firmness (3.13–1.16 N) (P < 0.05) whilst increasing resistance to uniaxial extension of pasta. Colour parameters indicated comparable brightness between the samples and higher redness values for enriched pasta. Thus, pasta fortified with SFP has the potential to be a technological alternative for the food industry to provide protein-enriched pasta.     

Combined effects of chitosan and MAP to improve the microbial quality of amaranth homemade fresh pasta

In this work a study on the combined effects of chitosan and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to improve the microbiological quality of amaranth-based homemade fresh pasta is presented. In particular, two different chitosan concentrations were combined to three different MAP conditions and tested against the following spoilage microorganisms: mesophilic bacteria, Staphylococcus spp., yeasts, moulds and total coliforms. Their viable cell concentrations were monitored for about 2 months at 4 °C. Results suggest that there is a combined effect between MAP and chitosan in delaying the microbial quality loss of pasta during storage. Moreover, it was also found that among the tested MAP conditions, the combination of 30:70 N₂:CO₂ is the most efficient, promoting an extension of the microbial acceptability limit beyond two months.     

Study of cooking quality of spaghetti dried through microwaves and comparison with hot air dried pasta

The aim of this work is to evaluate and compare the effects of microwave and conventional drying (hot air) on the quality characteristics of cooked pasta. Experiments were carried out on pasta type spaghetti.A huge difference was noticed between times necessary to dry samples by hot air and by microwaves, in fact in the first case, the drying time was on the average 204.5 min vs. 61.7 s of microwave treatment (average). The gelatinization degree of samples dried by hot air was faster than that of those dried by microwaves: the medium values of kinetic constant of gelatinization of samples dried by hot air and microwaves were 7.5 and 5.2, respectively. Similar total organic matter values suggest that the cooking quality of samples differently dried was comparable. Moreover, samples dried by microwaves were thicker than pasta dried by hot air (37.8 vs. 27.4).     

Effect of transglutaminase on the quality of wheat-based pasta products

Transglutaminase (TG) enzyme was tested in T. aestivum and T. durum wheat-based model systems to evaluate the quality improvement to pasta imparted by cross-linking. Quality was measured by the enhancement in sensory and cooking properties. In this process, tests were also performed to establish the biochemical structure-functions of the proteins involved at TG enzyme concentrations between 10 and 200 mg kg⁻¹. It was observed that the amounts of water/salt-, the alcohol- and the alkali-soluble protein fractions were reduced significantly. Change in the molecular weight distribution assessed by SDS PAGE was also noticed. The sensory properties were observed to improve from high water uptake and low cooking loss. The TG treatment changed the gluten structure in the modified pasta products. Immune-reactive gliadin fractions were detected by immunoblotting and independently measured by competitive indirect ELISA, using the anti-gliadin rabbit IgG.     

Cooking behaviour and acceptability of composite pasta made of semolina and toasted or partially defatted soy flour

The effects of the replacement of increasing amounts of semolina with toasted or partially defatted soy flour on dough rheological indices and spaghetti quality were evaluated. The replacement caused the dough weakening and the increase of the tenacity-extensibility ratio. Due to the competition of soy proteins and starch for water, the substitution of increasing amounts of semolina was able to increase the optimal cooking time without significant changes of the ratio between the increase in weight or diameter and the weight or diameter of dry spaghetti (ΔP/P and ΔD/D) but with a significant slowing of the ΔL/L (ratio between the increase in length and the length of dry spaghetti) increase during overcooking. Around the optimal cooking time, the release of organic matter was higher in pasta made exclusively of semolina whereas the sensory response was similar for control and composite spaghetti. Statistically significant correlations were obtained between protein content of the flour mixtures or dough alveographic indices and the cooking behaviour of semolina-soy spaghetti according to non-linear regression models. In particular, both protein content and alveographic indices allowed to predict approximately 92-94% of the variation of cooking losses and, in a lower measure, the variation of bulkiness and elasticity of semolina-soy spaghetti.     

Ohmic cooking of ground beef: Effects on quality

Conventional cooking tends to be slow and the surface of the food always receives a much more severe heating treatment than the rest of the food. Ohmic heating has the potential to be much faster and produces even more cooking. In this work cylindrical ground beef samples having different initial fat contents (2%, 9% and 15%) were cooked ohmically (20, 30 and 40 V/cm) and conventionally. Ohmic cooking was faster than the conventional cooking (p < 0.05). Ohmically cooked samples were firmer than those conventionally cooked but yield and fat retention was similar. However, the reduction in volume during cooking was significantly smaller from 5.36% to 6.97% in ohmic cooking than the conventional system which was measured from 26.01 to 31.59. The voltage gradient applied during ohmic cooking was not related to the quality of the cooked meat. These results show that ohmic cooking could be a fast-alternative method for meat products.     

Effect of processing and cooking on phenolic acid profile and antioxidant capacity of durum wheat pasta enriched with debranning fractions of wheat

The effect of processing and cooking on phenolic acids profile and antioxidant properties of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) pasta samples enriched with debranning fractions of an Italian wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar were studied.     

Ingredient composition and pasta:water cooking ratio affect cooking properties of nontraditional spaghetti

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different pasta:water ratios and nontraditional ingredients on the cooking properties of spaghetti. Spaghetti was made using semolina and semolina containing 20% (w/w) nontraditional (NT) ingredients (corn, flaxseed, lentil, oat, pinto bean and soybean flours). Pasta:water ratios evaluated were 13 g:400 mL, 27 g:400 mL and 48 g:400 mL. Addition of pasta caused a decline in cooking water temperature. The water temperature drop and recovery time to boiling (100 °C) varied with pasta:water ratio and with nontraditional ingredient in the spaghetti. These results were attributed to the calculated specific heat capacity of the ingredients incorporated in the spaghetti. Cooking time was reduced for all NT spaghetti with respect to the control sample and was longest when 48 g of pasta was cooked. Pasta:water ratio affected cooking loss but not cooked weight or cooked firmness. Cooking losses were greater with 13 g:400 mL compared to 48 g:400 mL.     

An overview of the Italian market for 2015: cooking quality and nutritional value of gluten-free pasta

A roundup of gluten-free (GF) pasta sold in the Italian market in 2015 was characterised throughout cooking behaviour, texture, colour and nutritional value. A preliminary evaluation of cooking quality of the thirty-three available products underlined an extremely heterogeneous technological quality. Eleven categories were, therefore, discriminated based on the main ingredients declared on the labels. Interestingly, the most numerous category (rice and corn) was pulverised on the factorial space indicating highly heterogeneous properties. This result was confirmed throughout multivariate statistics and can be likely due to diversity in ingredients proportions or/and processing. Nutritional evaluation of GF pasta pointed out a good nutritional quality. Therefore, the combination of technological and nutritional analyses demonstrated a huge difference among the analysed pasta samples, which can increase the difficulty of consumers to make their choice, and leaves room for further improvement of GF pasta formulation and productive processing.     

Effect of cooking bag and netting packaging on the quality of pork ham during water cooking

As a preliminary test for combining water cooking with vacuum cooling in soup of pork ham, three package treatments were designed to study the effect of cooking bag and netting on the quality of water cooked ham, i.e. ham cooked with a cooking bag and without a cooking bag (single netting and double netting). For treatments without a cooking bag, the results indicated that there was no significant superiority of ham cooked with double netting compared with ham cooked with single netting on the processing efficiency and quality characteristics. Although the hams cooked with a bag performed better in some chemical retentions and pigment, the water contents were significantly lower than those hams cooked in single netting (P<0.05), and there was a higher shrinkage tendency compared with the hams cooked without a bag. For the processing characteristics and texture properties of pork ham, there were no significant differences observed among the treatments with and without a cooking bag in terms of the combined effect of cooking and cooling (P>0.05). By considering the safety, convenience, cost, and the recovery effect on the quality changes of ham during vacuum cooling in soup, cooking with single netting is a better choice for future research.     

半干米粉的发酵工艺优化及蒸煮品质、质构特性分析

以半干米粉的吐浆率和质构特性作为评价指标,探讨自然发酵和接种发酵对半干米粉蒸煮品质和质构特性的影响,并在单因素实验基础上应用响应面法优化发酵工艺,得出较优的发酵工艺条件,并对其进行蒸煮品质和质构特性分析。结果表明：半干米粉在(25±2)℃的温度下自然发酵3 d时蒸煮品质和质构特性的表现是能接受的,而接种发酵在发酵温度35℃、菌种添加量106 CFU/g时仅发酵48 h蒸煮品质和质构特性就达到最佳;响应面优化接种发酵工艺的参数为发酵温度35℃、发酵时间52 h、菌种添加量106 CFU/g,在此条件下半干米粉吐浆率为(4.32±0.05)%。本实验获得的半干米粉与不发酵的样品对比可知,硬度提高了55.61%、黏性降低了92.88%、弹性提高了4.34%、咀嚼性提高了125.89%、内聚性提高了6.46%、回复性提高了8.46%、吐浆率降低了50%。     

几种添加物对全麦湿面蒸煮品质和感官品质的影响

以麦麸、小麦胚芽和小麦粉为原料制作全麦面条,比较不同食品添加剂(食盐、谷朊粉、黄原胶)对全麦湿面品质的改良效果,并考察不同添加剂之间的复配效果。结果表明:食盐、谷朊粉和黄原胶均可以改善面条的蒸煮品质并提高全麦面条的感官评分,其中食盐的最适添加比例为1%~2%,谷朊粉的最适添加比例为1.5%~2.5%,黄原胶的最适添加比例为0.15%~0.2%,两种或者三种添加剂经过复配后面条的品质要明显好于单独添加一种添加剂,其中黄原胶和食盐的复配对降低面条的蒸煮损失率效果最明显,三种添加剂复配之后感官评分最高。     

Chemical composition,cooking quality,texture and consumer acceptance of pasta with Eruca vesicaria leaves

In this study, pasta with dried Eruca vesicaria leaves commonly known as Rocket salad and spinach leaves flours were prepared. Samples were evaluated for its chemical composition, cooking quality, textural, colour and consumer acceptance. Results showed that pasta with Eruca vesicaria had the highest dietary fibre content (5.30–9.50 g/100 g) and the lowest fat content (2.13–2.80 g/100 g). The optimally cooked pasta with 5% of leaves (stored 30 days) and pasta with 10% of leaves (stored 14 days) have good cooking quality with cooking loss ≤8%. The green colour and textural characteristics of pastas were stable during all period at 4 °C. Textural characteristics of pasta with rocket and spinach were similar. Pasta with 10% of rocket leaves has presented the highest overall acceptability score.     

Effect of xanthan gum on processing and cooking quality of nontraditional pasta

The physicochemical properties of three different commercial sources of xanthan gum (XG) were determined, and its subsequent effect on the processing and cooking quality of pasta containing nontraditional ingredients was characterised. Commercial durum flour was fortified with nontraditional ingredients (soya flour or oat flour, 10% w/w) and XG (2% w/w). Protein content, ash content, bulk density, water‐holding capacity and total glucose content significantly varied among XG samples from different vendors. Xanthan gum increased dough strength of durum flour and the extent of strengthening varied with vendor of XG. For example, time‐to‐peak ranged from 2.75 to 4.25 min; peak width from 2.5 to 3.75 BU; and end width from 2 to 3 BU depending on the vendor of XG. Processing properties differed depending on commercial source. Commercial XG that had the finest particle size required the lowest mechanical energy (range 253–270 J s^?1) and had the greatest extrusion rate (range 3.38–3.65 g s^?1), both of which resulted in the lowest specific mechanical energy (range 69–79 J g^?1) required to extrude spaghetti samples.     

The impact of the protein network on the pasting and cooking properties of dry pasta products

Durum wheat semolina gluten and starch as well as processing conditions determine pasta cooking quality. This study investigated whether, for good organoleptic properties, a permanent protein network needs to be formed during pasta drying or can still be formed during cooking. The cooking quality of 16 spaghetti samples was related to the levels of sodium dodecyl sulphate extractable protein (SDSEP), starch gelatinisation temperatures as well as to the swelling properties of milled dry spaghettis. SDSEP levels in dry and cooked products varied between 31% and 56%, and 12% to 21% of total protein contents, respectively. The highest quality spaghettis had relatively higher levels of SDSEP in the dry product, low starch gelatinisation temperatures and swelling powers, and rigid particles. The lowest quality spaghettis had lower levels of SDSEP and higher gelatinisation temperatures. This work implies that high pasta quality results from an optimal degree of protein polymerisation during drying and/or the subsequent cooking.     

Optimization of amaranth flour films plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol by multi-response analysis

The optimal formulation for the preparation of amaranth flour films plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol was obtained by a multi-response analysis. The optimization aimed to achieve films with higher resistance to break, moderate elongation and lower solubility in water. The influence of plasticizer concentration (Cg, glycerol or Cs, sorbitol) and process temperature (Tp) on the mechanical properties and solubility of the amaranth flour films was initially studied by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimized conditions obtained were Cg 20.02 g glycerol/100 g flour and Tp 75 °C, and Cs 29.6 g sorbitol/100 g flour and Tp 75 °C. Characterization of the films prepared with these formulations revealed that the optimization methodology employed in this work was satisfactory. Sorbitol was the most suitable plasticizer. It furnished amaranth flour films that were more resistant to break and less permeable to oxygen, due to its greater miscibility with the biopolymers present in the flour and its lower affinity for water.