Assessing the Rheological Properties of Durum Wheat Semolina: A Review

Empiric rheology is considered a useful tool for assessing the technological quality of wheat. Over the decades, several tests have been adapted from common to durum wheat, and new approaches have been proposed to meet the needs of the players of the durum wheat value chain. Breeders are looking for reliable methods to test the functional quality of wheat lines at early stages, where there are limited amounts of sample; millers need fast and reliable methods for checking wheat quality right at the point of the receiving station; and pasta-makers are looking for suitable methods to predict end product quality. This review provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the rheological tests currently used to evaluate the quality of durum wheat semolina, with the emphasis on Europe. Moreover, the relationships among the parameters obtained from different rheological approaches are extrapolated from the literature and integrated with the data obtained from 74 samples of durum wheat semolina. Although numerous efforts have been made to propose rapid and reliable tests for semolina characterization, the ideal test has yet to be proposed, indicating that researchers and pasta companies need to focus on perfecting the way to assess the quality of durum wheat and pasta.

Role of Hydrocolloids in the Structure, Cooking, and Nutritional Properties of Fiber-Enriched, Fresh Egg Pasta Based on Tiger Nut Flour and Durum Wheat Semolina

The aim of this work concerns the manufacturing process of fresh egg tagliatelle labeled as a “source of fiber” based on tiger nut flour and wheat semolina. An attempt to improve the quality attributes and cooking properties of the obtained product was made by means of structuring agents. More specifically, a combination of three hydrocolloids (carboximethylcellulose, CMC; xanthan gum, XG; and locust bean gum, LBG) was tested. A Box–Behnken design with randomized response surface methodology was used to determine a suitable combination of these gums to achieve fewer cooking losses, higher water gain and swelling index values, and better texture characteristics before and after cooking. Positive effects on textural characteristics were observed when incorporating XG into the pasta formulation. Cooking and fiber loss also significantly diminished with the XG-CMC combination over 0.8%. No significant effect was found for the other evaluated parameters. A synergistic interaction between LBG and XG was only significant for the water absorption index. The cooked pasta was considered a source of fiber in all cases.

Effects of shorts, by-product of milling, on the chemical composition and quality properties of pasta

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of wheat shorts, a milling by-product, on some properties of pasta. For this purpose, wheat semolina was replaced with wheat shorts at 15, 30, and 45% levels in pasta formulation. Some physical, chemical, and sensory properties of pasta samples were evaluated and compared with control samples prepared with durum wheat semolina. As the concentrations of shorts increased in the pasta formulation, the brightness values decreased and the redness values increased. The ash, fat, total dietary fibre, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and mineral content increased with the use of shorts. The highest solid loss value (10.28%) was found in pasta samples containing 45% shorts. The addition of shorts up to 30% presented similar overall acceptability scores to control pasta samples. As a result, it was observed that as the shorts content of the samples increase, the nutritional value and the levels of some components that affect health positively, increase as well. So, the samples containing 30% shorts appear to be at forefront due to health effects and overall acceptability scores.

Incorporation of coconut milk residue in pasta: Influence on cooking quality, sensory and physical properties

A study was conducted to explore the potentiality of coconut milk residue (CMR) for cold extrusion (pasta preparation). Proximate analysis revealed that coconut milk residue is a rich source of crude fibre (24.03%) in addition to crude fat (41.55%), crude protein (5%), total carbohydrates (26.24%) and ash content (0.97%) at 2.23 per cent moisture. The effect of coconut milk residue upon replacing durum wheat semolina on cooking qualities, colour parameters, textural property and overall sensory acceptability of pasta samples were evaluated. Incorporation of coconut milk residue significantly influenced the observed parameters (P<0.01). Cooking time was unaffected by incorporating milk residue up to 10 per cent (P<0.05). Though the addition of residue increased the gruel loss (0.84 to 1.34%), the per cent loss was below the technologically acceptable limit (<8%). A similar effect was visualized in water absorption. Conversely, the firmness gets reduced with an increased concentration of coconut milk residue beyond 10 per cent. Pasta with 5 per cent and 10 per cent coconut milk residue were accepted as that of control by the sensory panel. Free fatty acid content was not affected by the period of storage (P>0.05). Thus, the study recommends incorporating 10 per cent coconut milk residue in durum wheat semolina for pasta preparation. Moreover, the entrepreneurs engaged in the coconut milk/milk powder and virgin coconut oil industry would be benefitted by adopting this venture, wherein they would be able to fetch huge additional income by placing their residue product on an upgraded fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) value chain.

Functional, Nutritional, and Sensory Quality of Mixed Flours-Based Breads as Compared to Durum Wheat Semolina-Based Breads

Increasing preference of consumers and bakers towards bread manufactured with mixed flours and/or sourdough drove us to investigate about influence of flours and sourdough on crumb grain, chemical, sensory, and in vitro glycaemic index (GI) and antioxidant activity of bread. To this aim, we produced and compared six experimental breads: three were based on a mixture of flours (soft wheat, durum wheat semolina, barley, oat, rye, and buckwheat); three were semolina-based breads. Two different sourdoughs (wheat or mixed flours) were assessed. Compared to semolina breads, those containing a mixture of flours showed higher specific volume. The use of sourdough led to increased concentrations of total free amino acids (FAA). Mixed flours bread with addition of mixed flours sourdough was rich in some essential FAA and amino acid derivative bioactive gamma-aminobutyric acid. Type of flours had higher influence than sourdough addition on volatile organic compounds. All the mixed flours breads, although showing profiles of volatile organic compounds differing from those of semolina breads, resulted acceptable. In addition, they had lower GI and higher antioxidant activity than semolina breads. Type of flours had much higher impact on GI and antioxidant activity than sourdough.

Acceptance of Fresh Pasta with β-Glucan Addition: Expected Versus Perceived Liking

The aim was to recognize the effect of oat β-glucan fiber addition on expected and perceived liking of fresh pasta. Durum wheat semolina was enriched with oat β-glucan fiber in proportions: 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16% in relation to wheat flour. The evaluation of pasta samples was carried out by a group of 150 consumers and 10 panelists. Consumers evaluated pasta samples to assess the expected and perceived liking and the trained panelists established sensory profile.The consumers’ evaluation of cooked pasta with different oat β-glucan fiber additions showed that the sample with 16% oat β-glucan fiber addition was most liked (6.4 in a 1–9 scale). Consistency between expected and perceived liking increased with the increase in oat β-glucan fiber addition and was the highest for the sample enriched with 16% β-glucan. The sensory profile established by the trained panelists compared with the results of the consumers’ assessment showed that an increase in intensity of bran odor and flavor (up to value 4.08 for odor note and 5.31 for flavor) could have been related to higher perceived liking by the consumers. The increased amount of oat β-glucan fiber powder (16%), which provides fiber-rich products, is a promising ingredient for fresh pasta formulation.

Phenolic Compounds and Bioaccessibility Thereof in Functional Pasta

Consumption of food products rich in phenolic compounds has been associated to reduced risk of chronic disease onset. Daily consumed cereal-based products, such as bread and pasta, are not carriers of phenolic compounds, since they are produced with refined flour or semolina. Novel formulations of pasta have been thus proposed, in order to obtain functional products contributing to the increase in phenolic compound dietary intake. This paper aims to review the strategies used so far to formulate functional pasta, both gluten-containing and gluten-free, and compare their effect on phenolic compound content, and bioaccessibility and bioavailability thereof. It emerged that whole grain, legume and composite flours are the main substituents of durum wheat semolina in the formulation of functional pasta. Plant by-products from industrial food wastes have been also used as functional ingredients. In addition, pre-processing technologies on raw materials such as sprouting, or the modulation of extrusion/extrusion-cooking conditions, are valuable approaches to increase phenolic content in pasta. Few studies on phenolic compound bioaccessibility and bioavailability in pasta have been performed so far; however, they contribute to evaluating the usefulness of strategies used in the formulation of functional pasta.