Cereal Chem. 77(2):133-139Pearling by-products and the pearled products of two commercial stocks of hulled barley, pearled according to an industrial process consisting of five consecutive pearling steps, were analyzed for β-glucans, dietary fiber (total, soluble, and insoluble), protein, lipid, ash, and digestible carbohydrate. The data showed that the pearling flour fractions, abraded in the fourth and fifth hullers, contained interesting amounts of β-glucans (3.9-5.1% db) from a nutritional point of view. These fractions were subsequently enriched in β-glucans using a milling-sieving process to double β-glucan content (9.1-10.5% db). Functional pastas, enriched with β-glucans and dietary fiber, were produced by substituting 50% of standard durum wheat semolina with β-glucan-enriched barley flour fractions. Although darker than durum wheat pasta, these pastas had good cooking qualities with regard to stickiness, bulkiness, firmness, and total organic matter released in rinsing water. The dietary fiber (13.1-16.1% wb) and β-glucan (4.3-5.0% wb) contents in the barley pastas were much higher than in the control (4.0 and 0.3% wb, respectively). These values amply meet the FDA requirements of 5 g of dietary fiber and 0.75 g of β-glucans per serving (56 g in the United States and 80 g in Italy). At present, the FDA has authorized the health claim "may reduce the risk of heart disease" for food containing β-glucans from oat and psyllium only.

It is well known that gluten plays a major role in determining cooking quality in durum wheat pasta. This work is an attempt to systematically elucidate the role of gluten quantity and nature in determining cooking quality as a function of the drying cycle used in the manufacturing process. Gluten and starch were fractionated from two durum wheat cultivars possessing good and poor gluten quality. Either of them were then added back to the original base semolina to alter its protein content and to produce two semolina series with identical protein contents. Semolinas were processed into pasta and dried following three drying programs (low, medium, and high temperature). Cooking quality was determined with sensorial, chemical, and instrumental methods. The results indicate that optimum cooking time is governed by gluten quality. The positive effect on cooking quality of increasing gluten contents and of the application of HT drying is evident in weak gluten samples, but it is not significant in the strong gluten samples.

Cereal Chem. 76(1):25-29The kernel characteristics and composition, milling performance, protein quality, and alveograph parameters of five spelt cultivars grown in European countries were determined in relation of their utilization in pasta products. Long pasta was manufactured and chemically characterized, and its quality was assessed by sensory and chemical tests. Protein and fat contents were high in the grains (15.7 and 4.4% db, mean value, respectively). Total fiber varied from 10.5 to 14.9% db. The average β-glucan content was 1.2% db. The milling performance as determined by yield, damaged starch, ash, and particle-size distribution in the flour was uniform among the five cultivars. The results of the SDS sedimentation and gluten index tests indicated that spelt gluten strength was low, and this was confirmed by the alveograph test. Sensory and chemical evaluations of the pastas, however, indicated that spelt is suitable for obtaining good-quality pasta. The combination of the high protein content and the high-temperature drying cycle adopted in pasta production could be responsible for these good results.

Cereal Chem. 79(5):634-639Three spelt genotypes (Rouquin, Redoute, and HGQ Rouquin= Rouquin improved for gluten quality), each characterized by either high or low protein content, were processed to manufacture spaghetti, which was dried at both low (60°C) and high temperature (90°C) to assess the effects of flour properties and drying conditions on spelt pasta quality. Protein content in the spelt flour was considered low at 11.4% db and high at 13.5% db. Gluten properties, assessed by SDS sedimentation and gluten index values and by alveograph and farinograph parameters varied widely, ranging from poor for Redoute to very good for HGQ Rouquin. Pasta quality was assessed by determining color (L*, a*, and b* values), furosine, and cooking quality (stickiness, bulkiness, firmness, and total organic matter [TOM]). Furosine and color (a* and b* values) were significantly influenced by the intensity of the drying process. TOM and organoleptic judgement (OJ) showed that spelt pastas dried at low temperature, independent of their protein levels, were very poor (TOM 2.7 g/100 g of dry pasta, OJ 40), except for HGQ Rouquin which was characterized by good gluten strength. On the other hand, the cooking quality of spelt pastas dried at high temperature showed good values (TOM 1.8 g/100 g of dry pasta, OJ 53). The combination of high protein content (13.5% db) and high-temperature drying resulted in the production of satisfactory cooking quality pastas from spelt wheats (TOM 1.2 g/100 g of dry pasta, OJ 67). 2 Corresponding

Results concerning the production of spaghetti enriched in long chain (LC) n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and, in particular, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) are reported. Pasta enrichment was obtained by adding different amounts of integrator (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8%) containing EPA (C20:5 n‐3) and DHA (C22:6 n‐3) in a microencapsulated form to commercial semolina. The addition of 1.2% integrator yielded spaghetti that provides ≈20% of the recommended daily intake of LC n‐3 PUFA with high sensorial acceptability and low loss of LC n‐3 PUFA after cooking (<10%). Thus, spaghetti fortified with EPA+DHA could be used to increase consumption of LC n‐3 PUFA and to decrease the dietary n‐6/n‐3 ratio.

In this paper the working conditions for the extraction of wheat germ oil in a supercritical CO 2 pilot plant of 1-L extraction capacity were studied. The best conditions were: pressure, 38 MPa; temperature, 55°C; wheat germ particle size, about 0.35 mm; CO 2 flow rate, 1.5 L min −1 . These conditions gave yields of about 92% of total oil after 3 h of processing. The obtained oils and the partially defatted cake were investigated with regard to their FA, tocol (tocopherol and tocotrienol), carotenoid, and sterol compositions and to their quality characteristics (FFA, PV, para-anisidine value, and color of the byproduct). Moreover, the oil quality was evaluated in relation to the progress of the supercritical extraction.Paper no. J10210 in JAOCS 80, 157-161 (February 2003).

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Starch was isolated from the seeds of 3 sorghum cultivars and compared with commercial wheat starch. The amylose content of sorghum starches was in the range of 22.0-27.8%. Sorghum starches had less total lipids than wheat starch (1.66%) but there was no difference between sorghum Milo and Sorghum "100." The water binding capacity of sorghum Dabar did not differ from that of wheat (100%) whereas differences in swelling power were observed, over a range of temperatures, between wheat and sorghum starches except for Sorghum "100" at 70°C. Sorghum starches showed single-step viscoamylographic curves with pronounced pasting peaks, good pasting stability and good set-back on cooling.