ABSTRACT
The technological and nutritional traits of food-grade sorghum hybrids, hulled/naked oat varieties and maize genotypes of different colors were studied for novel and healthier gluten-free foods. Oat genotypes showed the highest protein content, followed by maize and sorghum. The total starch and the total dietary fiber content were quite similar among the three species. Great variation was found in the amylose content, and the highest was in sorghum (27.12%), followed by oat 16.71% and maize 10.59%. Regarding the pasting profile, the rank of Peak Viscosity was sorghum (742.8 Brabender Unit, BU), followed by maize (729.3 BU) and oat (685.9 BU). Oat and sorghum genotypes had similar average breakdown (407.7 and 419.9 BU, respectively) and setback (690.7 and 682.1 BU, respectively), whereas maize showed lower values for both parameters (384.1 BU and 616.2 BU, respectively). The total antioxidant capacity, only in maize, significantly correlated with total flavonoid, phenolic and proanthocyanidin contents, indicating that all the measured compounds contributed to antioxidant capacity. The study indicated the importance of sounding out the nutritional and technological characteristics of gluten-free cereals in order to select suitable cultivars to be processed in different gluten-free foods with better and healthier quality.
ABSTRACT
Mediterranean diet is changing to keep up with the increasingly multiethnic Italian society. With food being considered as a means of integration, innovative foods capable of mixing different raw materials could be of interest. In this work, some of the most consumed African foods such as sorghum, cassava, and durum wheat were used to produce wholegrain spaghetti to valorize their nutritional and sensorial aspects and to combine Italian and foreign tastes. Different pasta formulations (cassava, semolina, cassava:semolina, cassava:sorghum, cassava:durum wheat whole meal, sorghum:semolina) were developed and compared for their content of proteins, total starch, resistant starch, amylose, fiber, total antioxidant capacity, ash, cooking quality and sensorial characteristics. The enrichment of cassava flour with durum wheat and sorghum wholegrain enhanced the total antioxidant capacity, protein, and fiber content with respect to 100% cassava pasta. The presence of cassava or sorghum resulted in a high diameter variability of pasta samples, lower water absorption, and shorter optimal cooking time with respect to semolina pasta. Sensory evaluation of cooked pasta revealed better scores in blends containing semolina. Although the obtained pasta samples were interesting for their nutritional aspects, further adjustments are required in the pasta-making process to improve pasta quality.
ABSTRACT
The increased demand for healthier foods, the recognition of dry pasta as an ideal carrier of functional ingredients, and the current interest for ancient wheats such as einkorn motivated the present research. Two varieties of Triticum monococcum, namely cv Norberto and the free-threshing cv Hammurabi, were milled by ultra-fine milling process (micronization) to produce wholegrain spaghetti. Einkorn pasta was assessed in terms of technological and biochemical properties and cooking and sensorial quality and compared to durum wheat semolina pasta. Wholewheat einkorn pasta showed a threefold increase in total dietary fibre content as well as in total antioxidant capacity in comparison to the control. The level of resistant starch in cv Norberto resulted significantly higher respect to semolina and einkorn cv Hammurabi pasta. Despite the very weak einkorn gluten network, the sensory and instrumental assessment of pasta quality highlighted that einkorn spaghetti presented good sensorial properties related to their technological quality, in particular, for the overall judgment and firmness. Cultivar Hammurabi emerged as the preeminent compromise on the basis of technological performances together with chemical and sensorial aspects.
ABSTRACT
Through the centuries, the domestication and modern breeding of wheat led to a significant loss of genetic variation in the cultivated gene pool with a consequent decrease in food diversity. Current trends towards low-input and sustainable agriculture call for the revitalization and exploitation of ancient wheats, which represent a reservoir of biodiversity useful to ensure sustainable wheat production in the context of climate change and low-input farming systems. Ancient Caucasian wheat species, such as the hulled wheats Triticum timopheevii (tetraploid AuAuGG) and Triticum zhukovskyi (hexaploid AuAuAmAmGG), are still grown to a limited extent in the Caucasus for the production of traditional foods. These Caucasian wheats were grown in Italy and were analyzed for physical, nutritional and technological characteristics and compared to durum wheat. Both Caucasian species revealed a high protein content (on average 18.5%) associated with a low gluten index, mainly in T. zhukovskyi, and test weight values comparable to commercial wheats. The total antioxidant capacity was revealed to be the double of that in durum wheat, suggesting the use of ancient Caucasian wheats for the production of healthy foods. Finally, the technological and rheological results indicated that Caucasian wheats could be potential raw material for the formulation of flat breads, biscuits and pasta.
ABSTRACT
The demand for gluten-free products, including pasta, is increasing and rice pasta accounts for the largest share of this market. Usually, the production of rice pasta requires additives or specific technological processes able to improve its texture, cooking quality, and sensory properties. In this work, two rice cultivars, with different amylose content, were subjected to parboiling, micronization, and flour air fractionation to obtain brown rice pasta, without any supplement but rice itself. In particular, two types of pasta (spaghetti shape) were produced, one from 100% micronized wholemeal, and the other from refined rice flour replaced with 15% of the air-fractionated fine fraction. Regardless of the cultivar, pasta from wholemeal micronized flour showed higher protein and fiber content than refined flour enriched with fine fraction, whereas no differences were revealed in resistant starch and antioxidant capacity. Pasta from the high amylose content genotype showed the highest resistant starch content and the lowest predicted glycemic index along with sensorial characteristics as good as durum semolina pasta in fine fraction enriched pasta. Besides the technological processes, pasta quality was affected the most by the genotype, since pasta obtained from high amylose cv Gladio resulted in the best in terms of technological and sensory quality.
ABSTRACT
Brewers' spent grain (BSG), the major by-product of the brewing industry, can be used as a functional ingredient to increase the nutritional value of cereal-based products. In this work, micronized BSG from the einkorn and tritordeum brewing processes were characterized and used to produce four macaroni pasta formulations enriched with BSG at ratios of 5 g and 10 g/100 g of semolina. Einkorn BSG showed the highest values for all the parameters analyzed-proteins, total dietary fiber (TDF) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)-except for ß-glucan. TDF increased up to 42 and 68% in pasta samples enriched with 10% of BSG from tritordeum and einkorn, respectively. The replacement of 10% of semolina with BSG from both cereals significantly increased the ß-glucan content and TAC values. Finally, the addition of BSG from einkorn and tritordeum affected to a minimal extent the sensory properties of cooked pasta, which showed higher values of optimal cooking time and cooking loss, but lower total organic matter compared to semolina pasta. Results from the sensorial judgment fell in the good quality ranges for durum wheat pasta; the incorporation of 10% of einkorn BSG resulted in the best compromise in terms of technological, nutritional and sensorial aspects of enriched pasta.
