RESUMEN
Pasta is a staple food in the Mediterranean diet, primarily manufactured with two essential ingredients, semolina and water; nowadays, it is often supplemented with functional ingredients. In this work, a sourdough obtained with wheat germ and wholemeal semolina was used, in order to improve sensorial and nutritional properties of fresh pasta, to prevent lipids oxidation, and to improve the shelf life. Three different formulations were prepared, a first one using semolina, a second one with raw wheat germ, wholemeal semolina, and semolina, and the last one with semolina and sourdough. The study highlighted the improved nutritional properties of pasta with sourdough (reduced phytic acid content, higher antioxidant activity and phenolic content). Proteins, ashes, dietary fibers, lipids, and tocols (vitamin E) increased in pasta with wheat germ and wholemeal semolina, and with sourdough. The amount of tocols decreased in pasta samples after cooking, except for the ß-tocopherol in sourdough pasta, the amount of which remained high, surprisingly. Lipase and lipoxygenase enzymes likely decreased as an effect of the pasteurization process. The NMR analysis showed that lipid oxidation was higher in semolina pasta than in pasta with wheat germ, most likely due to the protective effect of antioxidants deriving from wheat germ.
RESUMEN
The use of wholemeal flour and sourdough fermentation in different food matrices has received considerable attention in recent years due to its resulting health benefits. In this study, a semolina-based and a wholemeal semolina-based sourdough were prepared and added to the formulation of gnocchetti-type fresh pasta. Four types of gnocchetti were made, using semolina plus semolina-based sourdough (SS), semolina plus wholemeal semolina-based sourdough (SWS), semolina alone (S), and semolina plus wholemeal semolina (WS). The latter two were used as controls. The digestibility of starch was studied both in vitro and in vivo, and the glycemic response (GR) and glycemic load (GL) were determined. Starch digestibility, both in vivo and in vitro, was higher in wholemeal semolina than semolina pasta and the resulting GR values (mg dL-1 min-1) were also higher (2209 and 2277 for WS and SWS; 1584 and 1553 for S and SS, respectively). The use of sourdough significantly reduced the rapidly digestible starch (RDS) content and increased the inaccessible digestible starch (IDS) content. The addition of sourdough to the formulation had no effect on the GR values, but led to a reduction of the GL of the pasta. These are the first data on the GR and GL of fresh pasta made with sourdough.
RESUMEN
Celiac disease is increasing all over the world. In this context, most recent research in this area is addressing and attempting to improve the nutritional value and sensory characteristics of gluten-free (GF) food products and to enhance their technological properties. Here, amaranth flour was studied as a potential healthy ingredient for the development of an innovative GF flat bread. Starting from two different basic formulations (rice flour:corn starch and rice flour:tapioca starch, 50:50), the impact of partially replacing rice flour (6%) and starch (6%) with amaranth on the nutritional characteristics, polyphenol composition, textural, and sensory properties of the resulting GF flat breads was explored. The substitution with amaranth led to detrimental effects on the doughs' viscometric properties, especially in the case of tapioca starch, but significantly improved the doughs' textural properties. All the amaranth-enriched flat breads showed a better color and a significant increase in all polyphenols fractions but lower antioxidant activity. During bread storage for three days, a detrimental effect on both starch retrogradation, toughness, and extensibility properties were observed, especially when tapioca starch was used. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) sensory test results showed that the incorporation of amaranth increased yeast odor and yeast flavor perception and decreased the softness in mouth-only in tapioca-based samples. A better compromise among technological, nutritional, and sensory properties was achieved when amaranth flour was added to the basic rice and corn formulation.
RESUMEN
Fresh pasta (SP) was prepared by mixing semolina with liquid sourdough, whole wheat semolina based, and the effects of sourdough inclusion were evaluated against a control sample (CP) prepared using semolina and whole wheat semolina. Physicochemical, nutritional, and sensorial analyses were performed on pasteurized fresh pasta, before and after cooking. The optimum cooking time was not affected by whole wheat sourdough, whereas differences were found in color, firmness, and cooking loss. Changes of in vitro digested starch fractions in SP pasta were affected by a higher cooking loss. Overall, SP samples were characterized by improved nutraceutical features, namely higher content of free essential amino acids and phenolic compounds, lower phytic acid content, and higher antioxidant activity. Sensory analyses (acceptability and check-all-that-apply (CATA) tests) showed significantly higher scores for the SP, and the differences were enhanced when the consumers were informed about the product composition and how it was manufactured. Consumers checked for more positive sensory parameters for the SP than the CP.
RESUMEN
The present study compared liquid sourdough technology with baker's yeast leavening when applied to the production of a semolina-based crispy flatbread. Following in vitro starch digestion, the results revealed the sourdough leavened flatbread to contain a lower percentage of rapidly digestible starch (16%), higher amounts of slowly digestible starch (27%) and inaccessible digestible starch (4.1%) compared with the baker's yeast leavened flatbread (20, 20, and 2.4%, respectively), making the former nutritionally healthier. The sourdough leavened bread was crispier, stiffer and more solid, as shown by texture analyses, although Raman spectroscopy revealed no differences in the crystallinity status of starch. The descriptive analyses show that the use of sourdough enhances the positive sensory traits, as rated by the consumer panel scores (6.08 vs. 5.56). In summary, the results indicate that the implementation of sourdough technology in the production of flat crispy breads could confer economic advantages to this product.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Sowing time may impact semolina and pasta cooking quality by changing the environmental conditions during grain filling. The effect of an optimum and a delayed sowing time on semolina quality was studied by comparing six cultivars under irrigation, in order to isolate temperature from drought effects. RESULTS: Protein content was higher in the old cultivars and in the late sowings, according to the number of days with temperature between 30 and 40 °C during ripening. Gluten index increased as temperature rose to a threshold of about 30 °C, then decreased under higher temperatures. Mixograph parameters were less sensitive to high temperatures. Gliadin:glutenin correlated with gluten strength. Spaghetti firmness and protein content were positively correlated independently of sowing date. Cultivars Trinakria and Cappelli had the highest spaghetti firmness (900 and 828 g). CONCLUSIONS: Late sowings may represent a way of increasing pasta cooking quality whenever they place grain filling under thermal conditions able to increase protein percentage, although the accompanying decrease in yield may represent a drawback in environments prone to drought stress during ripening. The lower protein percentages of modern durum wheat cultivars under conventional sowing times results in a lower pasta cooking quality despite higher gluten strength.
